


The Last of the Jedi

by theyounggods



Series: The Last of the Jedi Extended Universe [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, Force-Sensitive Finn, Force-Sensitive Leia Organa, Gen, M/M, Paige Tico lives, Rey Skywalker, TLJ Spoilers, lando makes an appearance, leia & luke vs snoke lightsaber battle, no force connection with rey and kylo ren, so I fixed it, tlj was garbage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-16 21:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 42,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theyounggods/pseuds/theyounggods
Summary: Following the evacuation of D'Qar, the rebels have to find a way to escape the First Order - who is now able to track their cruiser through lightspeed.Poe, Finn, and Rose must infiltrate the First Order's ship and destroy the tracking device.While Rey unites with Luke Skywalker and learns the way of the Jedi.----if the last jedi had been written by someone with competence





	1. Act One

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote an [ outline (sort of ) for this on my tumblr,](http://theyounggods.tumblr.com/post/168585790118/how-to-fix-tlj-spoilers-obviously-part-i-we) saying how I would fix tlj and I ended up liking it so much I decided to write it.
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you like it.

A long time ago in galaxy far, far away:

The FIRST ORDER reigns having decimated the peaceful Republic, Supreme Leader Snoke now deploys his merciless legions to seize military control of the galaxy.

Only General Leia Organa’s band of RESISTANCE fighters stand against the rising tyranny, certain that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker will return and restore a spark of hope to the fight.

But the Resistance has been exposed. As the First Order speeds toward the rebel base, the brave heroes mount a desperate escape . . .

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The First Order’s Dreadnought loomed ominously in the space above D’Qar as a single X-wing approached. Poe Dameron brought his ship to a stop just inside the radius of the First Order’s detector’s. In his compartment in the back of the ship, BB8 beeped anxiously.

“Happy beeps only here buddy, come on. We’ve pulled crazier stuff than this.”

“Just for the record Commander Dameron,” General Leia’s voice filtered in through their com link as Poe started flicking switches on his dashboard, “I’m with the droid on this one.”

“Thank you for your support General.” 

Closing his eyes, Poe heaved a sigh before lowering his voice and muttering, “Happy beeps.”

This, after all, was surely a suicide mission. One X-Wing against one of the biggest Imperial ships, the odds had never been less in his favor. Yet, Poe could not simply let the opportunity to send a devastating blow to the First Order go.

Never tell me the odds. 

He had heard those words out of the General’s mouth on several occasions when she shared stories of her late husband, Han Solo. Poe would carry those words with him today. Heaving out a final sigh, Poe flicked the switch that would connect his com to the First Order’s ship.

“Attention! This is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic Fleet, I have an urgent communicate for General Hux.”

“This is General Hux of the First Order. The Republic is no more. Your fleet are rebel scum and war criminals. Tell your precious Princess there will be no terms. There will be no surrender.”

Poe held his breath, the engines were only charged at 25% power. 

“Hi, I’m holding for General Hux.”

“This is Hux. You and your friends are doomed. We will wipe your filth from the galaxy.”

A slight smirk began to flicker across his lips at General Hux’s irritated tone. He could do banter and snark if it gave him time. Engines were at 50%. 

“. . . Okay, I’ll hold.”

“Hello?”

“Hello? Yeah, still here.”

“Can you- Can he hear me?”

“Hux?”

“He can.”

The indignant sound of Hux’s voice filtered through the cockpit of the X-wing, making Poe’s next words fall out of his mouth without thought.

“With an H. Skinny guy, kind of pasty.”

“I can hear you. Can you hear me?”

“Look, I can’t hold forever. If you reach him, tell him Leia has an urgent message for him.”

Engines were at 80%. Poe began flicking switches, preparing for take off as another voice filtered through the com.

“I believe he’s tooling with you, sir.”

Engines were at 90%. 

“Open fire,” the order came through the com before their transmission was cut.

Engines at 100%. 

“BB8, Punch it!”

The engine on the X-wing flared to life, the ship began to hurtle towards the Imperials’ Dreadnought. Poe and BB8 were forced back in their seats, as Poe steered the ship unwavering towards the top of the Dreadnought. 

Releasing a laugh of relief, Poe allowed himself a grin before beginning to take out the cannons that were on top of the Imperial ship. He weaved a precarious course, leading his ship directly towards blasters and then swerving out of the way when one was about to hit his ship - allowing the First Order’s blasts to take themselves out while he fired blasts of his own.

“Alright, taking out the cannons now. Bombers, start your approach.”

“Copy that.”

Poe’s heart was pounding so loud he could feel the thud of it throughout his body, his blood singing in excitement as he approached the next cannon. He had never felt more alive than when he was able to fly. Taking aim, he fired away at the nearest cannon. It bursts into flames of orange and red, that he raced through while swerving to miss the debris. 

“One cannon left.” At last, a group of TIE fighters filtered out through the Imperial’s ship behind him. “Here comes the parade.”

They raced after the X-wing with precision, firing off blasts that Poe was left veering to miss. BB8 beeped a warning of the three TIE fighters gaining on them.

“Yeah! Yeah, I see them!” Poe yelled back, stuck between going for the last cannon and escaping the incoming TIE fighters. 

A green blast ripped into the X-wing, an electrical current surged through the ship leaving the screen and half the controls on the inside frazzled.

“No, no! Damn it! BB8, my weapon systems are down. We gotta take out that last cannon or our bombers are toast. Work your magic, buddy!”

BB8 beeped an affirmation, before sliding down into the ship and searching through the interior for the problem. One of the panels in the wall began to spark, one of BB8’s panels opened an arm extending out towards the ship’s panel only for another spark to start upon contact with the first one, and when BB8 extended their reach another spark began. 

“Need some help?” a woman’s voice filtered through the cockpit, as ten resistance bombers flew into the space in front of the Dreadnought.

“Turn around!” Poe ordered frantically, as he maneuvered his ship attempting to keep the TIE fighters focused on him and not the newly arrived bombers. “There’s still one cannon left. We’ll be slaughtered if you go in now. My weapon systems are down.”

There was a commotion through the line as the message was passed around. TIE fighters had already began to break off and target the bombers close enough, the remaining cannon fired away taking down one, two, three bombers in the span of seconds. Still, some of the bombers preceded forwards, while others turned tail to report back to the rebel’s ship. 

“Bomber’s disengage,” the General’s voice echoed through the com.

In the chaos, the Dreadnought fired the cannons on the underbelly of the ship at D’Qar, destroying the rebel base as the last rebel ship evacuated the area. 

“The last transport is in the air. The evacuation is complete,” Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix’s voice came through the com link, followed by General Leia’s.

“You did it, Poe. Now get your squad back here soon, so we can get out of this place.”

“No! General, we can do this! We have the chance to take out a Dreadnought.”

Poe maneuvered his X-Wing through four vertical panels, causing two of the X-Wings behind him to crash and sending a third ramming into the Dreadnought, where it collided and promptly burst into flames. He veered the ship left towards the last cannon, determined to wipe it out. 

“These things are freak killers. We can’t let it get away. My weapons systems are almost back on.”

“Disengage now, Commander. That is an order.”

Poe eyed the last cannon, his hand wavering before he veered the ship in the opposite direction. 

“Understood, General. We’re headed back now.”

The TIE fighters remained in pursuit behind him, firing relentless at his retreat. The majority of the bombers had turned tail and managed to get away, but one remained flying closer and closer to the Dreadnought, barely managing to evade the TIE fighters fire. 

“Bomber, the General has ordered us to disengage. Turn around.”

“No! I have the shot, I can do this.”

“Paige, that’s an -”  
Poe didn’t have time to finish his sentence as a blast from one of the TIE fighters rammed into the bomber, destroying the top portion of the ship. 

“Paige! Paige, can you hear me?”

Silence reigned. There was a horrible moment of nothing but static, until an anguished moan filtered through the speakers. 

“I’m . . . here.”

A sigh of relief fell from Poe’s lips.

“BB8 and I are coming to get you. We’ll stop just below your ship, I’ll open the cockpit and you can fall in.”

“No, no. I can - I can still drop the bombs. I have the shot.”

“If you drop those bombs, you’ll die too, Paige.” Poe flicked through the switches on his dashboard, swerving out of one of the TIE fighters way. “We’re on our way. BB8, you know what to do.”

The ship hurtled through the air, as Poe jerked on a facial mask preparing to open the cockpit of the ship. As suddenly as they started, the X-wing jerked to a stop beneath the bomber. Poe flicked the cockpit open, as Paige’s body fell out from her ship and slammed into the X-wing below. Her face contorted in agony, Poe gripped onto her hand and pulled her body in to the ship. 

The cockpit slammed shut and Poe jerked to start the ship back up as a TIE fighter fired, hitting the back end of the ship. Paige groaned, as she and Poe squeezed together to fit into the cockpit as they hurtled off once more. Gripped in her hand was the remote that would release the bombs. Paige grimaced up at Poe, who was he steering the X-wing with one hand and pulling the facial mask off with the other. 

“Paige and I are back in the ship and headed your way, General.” 

“Glad to hear it, Commander. We’ll take off once you’ve landed.”

Paige lifted the remote so that Poe could see and pushed down on the release button. 

The bombs rained down on the Dreadnought behind them, exploding on impact and turning the threatening hulk of metal into a shower of red, yellow, and oranges. The blast sent their ship flying forward, BB8 screaming an array of miffed beeps as they continued to fix the interior of the ship.

“Holy shit,” Poe breathed out, at the sight of the Dreadnought exploding behind them. “Paige, you did it.”

His awed exclamation was met with silence.

“Paige?” he turned, to see her passed out in the seat. It was only now that he noticed the twist to her ankle and the blood that was seeping through her clothing. “Shit. General, I need medic on standby in the hanger. Paige’s foot is twisted and she seems to bleeding somewhere in the abdominal area.”

General Leia’s voice was tense and weighted, “Copy that. Medic will be waiting.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medic droids and nurses were on standby as soon as Poe landed, Paige was whisked out of the ship and carted off before Poe had even gotten out. For a moment, he seemed to be unable to remove his hands from the helm of the ship - they had lost several bombers out there, because of him. If only he had been able to take out that last cannon, or if he hadn’t gotten hit by that TIE fighter his weapons systems wouldn’t have failed.

There was more he could have done. He knew there was.

BB8’s sympathetic beeps pulled him out from his mind. 

“Yeah, buddy, we did good.” Despite his efforts, the words fell flat. “We’ll still need to give the General a report on the mission.”

Straightening up in his seat, Poe ran his hand along his face. What happened was over, if he ever wanted to defeat the First Order he’d have to keep moving forward. He couldn’t change the past. Still, the gleam of Paige’s fresh blood on the seat and on part of his suit seemed to say otherwise. 

Would Paige even make it? Had Poe been too late to rescue her?

Poe shook his head, grabbing onto a stray towel on the floor of the cockpit he haphazardly wiped up the blood before getting down off the ship and joining BB8 who was waiting for him below. Together they navigated to the bridge, the sooner he gave his mission report the sooner he could check in on Paige - and Finn. It had almost been a month since Rey had left to find Luke Skywalker, and Finn hadn’t shown any signs of waking, no matter how long Poe waited by his bedside. 

General Leia stood and approached him the second he step foot onto the bridge, leading him off to a corner of the room where they could speak privately.

“Commander Dameron.”

“General,” he nodded his head in respect. “How many did we lose?”

“More than we had to spare.” She eyed the blood on his uniform and the way his eyes remained downcast. “But that wasn’t your fault.”

“Paige -”

“Defied a direct order. She knew what she was doing. There was nothing you could have done to stop what happened out there. Sometimes, you have to accept the fact that you can’t win everything. We lost good men and women out there today, but we also destroyed that Dreadnought and we were able to evacuate D’Qar without leaving anyone behind. Lives were saved today, even if it is not apparent in this moment.”

“I understand, General.” 

For a moment, he seemed at a loss of what else to say. Logically, he knew he couldn’t have prevented those people from dying, still his brain fought to say otherwise. In an effort to keep his thoughts controlled, he began to detail a brief of the mission, including a report of the damage to his ship as the General listened on.

“Poe,” General Leia interrupted, “are you all right?”

“I - I’m fine. Only my ship was damaged.”

“That wasn’t what I was asking.” A sad smile rose to her lips. “Poe, after my planet was destroyed by the Death Star, I felt as if I had to pretend to be okay. I thought it was necessary that the rebellion see me as someone strong in the face of something that greatly affected me personally. But I didn’t have to, there were people I could have talked to and I should have. You don’t have to pretend to be strong for the rebellion and if you need to talk, I am here.”

She was right, of course. General Leia Organa always was. He had been blaming himself for every horrible thing that happened to the rebellion when he was around, even when he knew it wasn’t his fault. The betrayal of Oddy Muva and the resulting death of L’ulo L’ampar had been weighing on his shoulders for some time now and everything that followed left a heavier feeling behind. Maybe it was time he let some of these things go, maybe it was time to admit he wasn’t as fine as he pretended to be.

“Thank you for the offer. I appreciate it, but I think I’m going to go and check in on Paige, see how she’s doing, and see if there’s any changes with Finn. Just take a minute to remember what we’re fighting for.”

“Then consider yourself dismissed.” 

Poe nodded and began to head towards the door, only to be stopped by the General’s next words. 

“And Poe? You did good out there today.”

Poe couldn’t help the smile that rose from his lips at the compliment.

“Duty to others before duty to one’s self, right? I learned that from you.”

Leia Organa could only smile in return as Poe left, remembering how her father had taught her those words long ago and how they had carried her to where she was today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The med bay was silent, save for the sound of intermittent beeping from medical droids, when Poe arrived still in uniform with BB8 rolling in behind him. For a moment, he eyed the door to Finn’s room, but he knew it was unlikely there’d be a change. Turning he moved to walk over to the only other occupied room.

The sound of sniffling and choked back crying filtered out into the hall as he walked closer. Inside the room, Paige was submerged in a bacta tank, a young woman in a maintenance outfit sat in a chair next to her, quietly sobbing into her hands. Poe knocked against the doorframe, causing the woman to look up. At the sight of another human being the woman began to frantically wipe her eyes, in an attempt to rid the evidence of her tears.

“You’re Rose, right?” Poe asked, stepping into the room. “Paige’s sister?”

“Yes. I - I am. I’m Rose.” She stood and took a step towards him. “You’re Poe. You’re the one who brought Paige back.”

“I am.” Poe offered her a reassuring smile. “How is she? Do we know anything yet?”

“She - um - She’s going to be okay. At least that’s what they said. Her ankle was broken and they say she must have fallen at some point. Her back is heavily bruised, four of her ribs broke, and there was internal bleeding. But they say she’s going to make it. She’s going to make it.”

Poe felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. Yes, he had rescued her and brought her here, but he also hadn’t even initially noticed she was injured. He had had her fall straight onto his X-wing, the impact of which must have left her in even more excruciating pain than she was already in. 

“I’m so sorry, Rose. For everything that’s happened. Your sister was incredibly brave out there today, and she saved a lot of lives.”

“Thank you for bringing her back. I heard what she was going to do, that she was going to sacrifice herself, but you stopped her.”

“I,” Poe felt lost for words. He had brought her sister back severely injured, and here she was thanking him anyways. “It was the right thing to do. The resistance is nothing if we don’t look out for one another. Your sister is strong, she’ll be back on her feet in no time.”

“Yeah,” Rose’s face seemed to brighten at that, a smile twitching at her lips. “She never could stay down for long.”

“I’ll get out of your hair.” He gripped her on the shoulder, hoping she could feel his support. “But, if you need anything, anything at all, let me know. Paige wasn’t alone in all of this, and neither are you.”

A blinding smile pulled over her lips, perhaps the first true smile she had given since he stepped into the room, and she nodded.

“I will. And thank you again, for everything.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn’s room was cold. It was always cold, to Poe’s displeasure. He had once tried to turn up the temperature, only to be kicked out and banned from the med bay for two whole days by the medical droids. It had been torture, he was certain that Finn would wake up. Fate would spite him but not allowing him to be there. But Finn hadn’t woken. That was three weeks earlier and still Finn remained in his medical cot covered in bacta patches, unchanged.

“Hey, buddy. Sorry it’s so late today. BB8 and I have had quite the day.”

BB8 beeped loudly in affirmation, rolling around the room as Poe slid down into his chair at Finn’s bedside. 

“On the upside, we managed to destroy a Dreadnought - something I think you’d be pleased by. We had some close calls, but most of us managed to make it out alright. Paige, the one who dropped the bombs, got injured. It’s pretty bad, but she’s going to pull through. She’s strong like you. We haven’t heard back from Rey yet, but we assume that -”

Finn’s entire body suddenly jerked in the cot, his head slamming into the glass that covered the top portion of the bed.

“Rey!” he called out

“Finn!” Poe shot up, his hands moving on instinct to lift the glass panel up so Finn could move.

“Poe?” Finn moved to stand up, his movements jerky.

“Slow down, Finn.” Poe grabbed ahold of Finn’s arms as he moved to stand, helping balance him. “You’ve been out of it for a while. It’s unbelievably good to see you. You must have a thousand questions.”

Finn’s expression darkened, a crease forming in his brow.

“Where’s Rey?”

BB8 chimed up then, a series of quick excited beeps that left Finn frowning.

“She’s okay. She went to find Luke Skywalker, almost a month ago. She wanted to wait until you woke, but it was urgent.”

BB8 rolled forward then, ramming into Finn’s leg before opening one of the panels on their side, a holographic projection of Rey at Finn’s bedside filled the room.

“We’ll see each other again. I believe that,” holographic Rey said, before she leaned over and kissed Finn’s forehead. 

The holograph showed Rey leave a lingering gaze on Finn before it faded to black. 

“How - How did she get away from Kylo Ren? He was trying to kill us.”

“I have no idea, but Chewbacca and Rey brought you back on the millenium falcon. You’ve been stuck in medical ever since.” Poe glanced at Finn’s bacta patch covered body. “Maybe we should get you some clothes.”

Finn blinked, finally noticing that he was missing the majority of his clothes.

“Oh, yeah. Is there somewhere . . . ?”

“My rooms not far, you can take some of mine.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn emerged from Poe’s bathroom, in fresh clothes and looking more alive than Poe had seen him in the past month. Poe couldn’t stop the smile that rose to his lips at the sight of Finn.

“Here, I’ve got one more thing for you.”

Reaching into his closet, Poe pulled out the jacket he had given to Finn so long ago. 

“Your jacket,” Finn breathed out, taking the article from Poe. “I thought it would have been destroyed after . . ..”

“It was a bit mangled,” Poe admitted. “But I patched it up while you were out. It’s a bit rough but - Oh!”

Poe couldn’t finish the rest of his sentence, as Finn had stepped forward and embraced him. Arms wrapping tightly around Poe, warmth seeping out of Finn and bleeding into Poe who hadn’t realized how much he had needed that until Finn had given it to him. Poe hugged him back equally as fierce.

“Thank you,” Finn said as he pulled away. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me before.”

“It was no problem. It would have been a shame if you had lost my jacket right after I gave it to you.”

Finn startled suddenly, back straightening as his eyes cleared up.

“Wait, starkiller base did you -”

“Starkiller base is gone. The mission was a success.”

“You did it? You really blew it up?”

“No, Finn. We did it. We were only able to get in because you lowered the shields. You’re one of us, you’re part of the resistance now. If you want to be that is.”

Finn was quiet for a moment, his gaze on the jacket he still held in his hands, before he nodded resolutely. 

“I do. I do want to be. Do you think they’ll accept me? I was a stormtrooper, that can’t look good.”

“Of course they’ll accept you. You defected and gave us the information to destroy Starkiller base, funny how history repeats itself like this. But even if you hadn’t done those things, you left the First Order. You chose to fight for the light and if anyone has a problem with that you can send them my way.”

“Thank you, Poe.” Finn couldn’t think of anything else to say. In the span of a few days, he had gone from being a number that meant almost nothing to the people around him to having two close friends who truly cared about him. “Wait, what do you mean history repeats itself?”

Poe’s head tilted in confusion.

“Well, that’s how the first Death Star was defeated. An imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook, defected against the Empire. He brought a message that there was a flaw in the Death Star and he was apart of the Rogue One crew, the group that landed on Scarif to steal the plans and transmit them to the resistance.”

“He was like me, then?” 

Finn couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t ever heard of the Rogue One group or Bodhi Rook. Defectors were only used to make examples of, but if Bodhi Rook had been successful in bringing about the downfall of the Empire it made sense that Finn wouldn’t have ever heard of him. Others would have rose up against the First Order if they knew they had a shot at being successful. Finn might have chanced it sooner if he had known. 

“Exactly! Without him the resistance would have crumbled, the Empire would have won. Just like with you. Our system was targeted next, if you hadn’t been able to switch off the shields who knows what would remain of the rebellion.”

“Who else was part of Rogue One?”

“Fifteen others outside of Bodhi. Jyn Erso, she was the daughter of Galen Erso who designed the Death Star with the flaw on the inside, there were two Guardians of the Whills - Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus -, Cassian Andor, he was a spy and a pilot for the rebellion. He reprogrammed an Imperial KX-series security droid when he was only fourteen years old. K2SO the droid was called, he was there on Scarif too. My mother says that Cassian used to tell people that, ‘rebellions are built on hope’ and he was right. His hope defeated the Empire and - I’m talking too much, aren’t I?

“No! It was good. I’ve never heard any of this before. We were never allowed to hear events that put the First Order in a bad light. I want to hear more.”

Poe grinned at him.

“Well I have tons of stories. My family has been apart of the rebellion for a long time and I’d be happy to tell them to you, but I think we have to let the General know you’re up first.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We’re really nowhere,” Finn said, taking his eyes away from the map that was projected across the console in the center of the bridge as he turned towards General Leia. “How’s Rey going to find us now?”

The General lifted the sleeve of her dress to reveal a small circular device, with a bright blue glowing center that was attached to a bracelet wrapped around her wrist.

“A cloaked firing beacon,” Finn identified, stepping closer to her.

She nodded, before pulling her sleeve back over the device. 

“To light her way home.”

Finn suppressed a smile. Rey would soon come back and be home with him. They had started this journey together, neither interested in going up against the First Order, and yet here they both were leading at the front lines of the rebellion. She was his friend, one of two that he had, and his heart warmed at the thought of seeing her again.

“All right,” Finn approached the General’s side, “until she gets back, what’s the plan?”

“We need to find a new base.”

“One with enough power to get a distressed signal to our allies, scattered in the outer rim,” Poe chimed in. “We need resources; we’ve been running out of fuel for months now and this far out, if we can’t find a way to contact someone we’ll be stranded.”

A loud insistent beeping began, causing every person’s head to snap up. 

“Proximity alert!” Admiral Gial Ackbar announced

“They’ve found us,” one of the rebels said.

“But that’s impossible,” Poe said, moving so that he was closer to the windows along the bridge, “We just dropped out of lightspeed, how could they have . . .?”

A fleet of imperial ships suddenly appeared on the map in the center console. The bridge rumbled with activity, every person aboard going into high alert and preparing for battle.

“That’s Snoke’s ship.” Poe’s head shook in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He moved back to the center console, next to Finn. “Can we jump to lightspeed?”

“We only have enough fuel resources for just one jump,” a lieutenant reported. 

“Well then do it, we gotta get out of here.”

“Would that even work?” Finn cut in. “They tracked us through lightspeed and that’s impossible.”

“And they’ve done it,” the General reported gravely.

BB8’s head rolled forward in bleak resignation.

“So if we jump to lightspeed they’ll just find us again and we’ll be out of fuel. They’ve got us.”

The admission felt like Finn was being blasted in the gut. He had just escaped the First Order and even though it had been a month for everyone else, it hadn’t been for him. How long could he keep up this race against the First Order? Every time he thought he was truly free they would appear, even more ruthless than before. 

Still he couldn’t just give up. If he had done that before Starkiller Base would still be standing. If Bodhi Rook hadn’t risked his life to bring a message the Death Star never would have fallen, the Empire would have won and reigned till this day - the galaxy would have lost hope for good. Finn could be as strong as Bodhi Rook. They were both defectors, they both played a role in the downfall of planet killers. 

Finn would fight until his final breath if that’s what it took.

“Not yet, they don’t,” Poe said, before striding to General Leia, “Permission to jump in an X-wing and blow something up?”

“Permission granted.” The General indulged him with a smile. “Admiral, swing us around!”

Poe sprinted off, BB8 rolling after him. The ship rumbled and shook beneath them as it took hits from the First Order’s Fleet.

“Don’t wait for me, jump in and fire her up!” Poe ordered as BB8 zoomed head. 

Beeping out in compliance, BB8 quickened rolling into the hanger towards the X-wing. Poe ran at his heels, entirely focused on reaching his ship and joining the fight. With the ship in sight his running grew faster until there was only three meters between them, then two, then one. Before he could take another step forward, the hanger exploded. 

A fiery blast rammed into Poe and BB8, slamming them up into the air and carrying them back into the main ship’s corridor as it engulfed the entirety of the hanger. On protocol, the door separating the two slammed shut. 

Stunned, Poe remained on the ground, trying to force air back into his lungs. All of their ships would be destroyed now, leaving them with only the escape pods. How many people had been in there? It had been bustling with activity when Poe had just entered. Had his squadron been there? Were they even alive now?

BB8 was shrieking, decapitated head rolling and joining back with the rest of the body. 

“Poe,” Finn arrived out of nowhere, leaning over, his hands on Poe’s chest as he helped him sit up. “Are you all right?”

Poe didn’t have time to feel anything, the horror fleeing from his veins as he struggled to find a plan. If they didn’t act soon the entire ship would be blown apart. 

“We need to get out of range of those star destroyers.”

His breath was coming in short gasps, as he stifled the panic that was threatening to set in. He shoved it aside, taking hold of Finn’s hand and standing before they raced off towards the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Full engines ahead!” Leia Organa ordered, as the bridge exploded once more in panic, the ship rattling from their most recent hit. “Get out of range of the star destroyers and the fires will fall back.”

“Full engines,” repeated Admiral Ackbar into his com link, every lieutenant bustling to do as instructed.

His words fell into the background for Leia. For the first time in nine years, she could feel her son nearby. The force was heavy around Ben Solo, raw and pulsing, swirling darkly across his being. She had thought there was good in him still, she still believed it now - even after she had felt him kill her husband, his father - Han Solo. 

It was Snoke, he had had Ben in his clutches for years now. Even now, his presence was entwined with Ben’s, black and thick - poisoning every thought in her son’s head. If she could just pull him away, Ben would return to the light. She knew he would. 

Luke had brought their father back after years under Darth Sidious’ reign. Surely, Leia could do the same with her son, who she had raised and loved him with every molecule of her being. She had taught him the side of the light, she had shown him how to do good, how to be a diplomat and how to stand up for what was right, the way her mother and father had taught her. She had taught him the ways of Alderaan - to answer rage with wisdom, fear with imagination, and war with hope.

They were of the same blood. He could return to her side, redeem himself; he had spent his life learning how. 

The force surged around her, dark tendrils weaving out and corrupting the light around it. Something was coming. Something . . .

Her eyes flew open, even though she couldn’t recall shutting them, as three TIE fighters flew past the windows.

“Evacuate the bridge.” Her voice was hoarse and too quiet. She cleared her throat. “Evacuate the bridge.”

Every head in the room swiveled to look at her, perhaps they had misheard.

“But General we’re -” one of the lieutenants started.

“That was an order. All of you. Now.”

She did not need to raise her voice, she never had. A few of the younger rebels shared askance glances, nevertheless they did as they were told. Leia went to work as the others in the room bustled out of the exits. Diverting the shields to elsewhere on the ship and removing the data chip from the center console, she turned to leave only to stop a foot away from the door when she spotted Admiral Ackbar still maintaining his position at the helm. Six other admirals on the other side of the room were gathering up data and their belongings, before heading towards the door on the other side of the bridge.

“Admiral, I believe -”

There wasn’t time for her to finish her sentence as the three TIE fighters from before zoomed by, two bright blue blasts surged into the bridge, shattering the windows and engulfing the room in a fiery explosion. The force of the blast sent Leia stumbling back into the corridor just as the door slammed shut. The others did not have the same luck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We’ve had numerous casualties today. At least half of our pilots are gone, four bombers, countless others throughout the ship, and now almost half of our leaders. I ask you to save your sorrows for after the fight. There is an old rebel alliance base on Crait, it’s less than a day’s ride away at this speed. Once there we’ll be able to transmit a message strong enough to reach our allies and call for backup. If your leader is now gone, you may report directly to me or to Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo.”

Finn seemed to be only able to concentrate on half of what General Organa was saying. The plan was decent, but if the First Order continued to track them they’d still end up trapped. Was there anyone who could really escape the First Order? And what about Rey? If she came for them now, she’d be walking into a death trap. The death trap they had just escaped from.

But he couldn’t run. Not anymore. He was done running from the First Order. He was a rebel now, the only thing that was holding the dark back from encapsulating the light. 

If he was going to survive this, if the resistance was going to survive, they’d need to think of a better plan. Finn stood as the rest of the rebels were dismissed, telling Poe that he’d be fine on his own after the General had called after the Commander.

Perhaps he should have waited or at the least asked for directions, but everyone around him had a job to attend to and he didn’t want to bother them now, when the slightest misstep could send them all to their deaths. He wandered aimless, his mind fixed on solving how the First Order had been able to track them through lightspeed. 

It was only the sound of muffled sniffling that brought him back to reality. He was back in the medical bay where he had woken up, only a few hours ago. The crying continued in the background and Finn halted, deciding that whoever was crying would probably wish to be left alone. He twisted to turn back around and head the other direction, but his arm rammed against one of the shelves against the wall, sending a metal canister slamming into the floor. 

Cringing at his own misfortune, Finn bent - doing his best to ignore the way his back erupted in pain at the move - and picked the object back up. The room was silent now and when Finn stood back up it was to see a young dark haired woman staring at him, cheeks swollen and red from tears. She held a gold half moon necklace between her fingers.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was just - I didn’t mean to.” 

He held the cannister up and tilted it from side to side before placing it back on the shelf.

“You’re Finn.” The woman stared at him awe. “The Finn.”

“The Finn?”

“Poe’s Finn,” she clarified, taking a step closer to him. “Sorry, I work behind pipes all day. Doing talking with resistance heroes isn’t really my forte. I’m Rose.”

Her breathing was still coming in short irregular gasps despite the fact that she had stopped crying.

“Just breathe,” Finn cautioned. “Look, I’m not a resistance hero, but um it was nice talking to you Rose.”

Feeling awkward as she continued to stare at him, he added, “May the Force be with you.”

“Wow,” she breathed out, before she rushed to move closer to him stopping half a foot away. “But you are a resistance hero. Poe’s told everyone about how you rescued him. You - you were a stormtrooper and you turned against the First Order. What you did on the Starkiller Base, when we heard about it my sister Paige turned to me and said, ‘Rose, that’s a real hero’.”

“No,” Finn denied.

Sure, he had done those things, but that didn’t mean he was a hero. He had turned against the First Order because he couldn’t kill for them and he only infiltrated Starkiller Base to save Rey. He wasn’t a hero, not yet at least.

Or was he?

“You are,” she reaffirmed, then paused as if only just now fulling noticing where they were. “What were you doing down here?”

“I’m a bit lost, actually. Didn’t want to bother anyone.”

“Well, you can stay here. If you want to. There’s room.”

Finn hesitated, the med bay wasn’t ideal but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to find his way back to anywhere else if he continued moving around.

“Okay, yeah I’ll stay.”

Rose smiled, then.

“And if there’s anything I can do for you, let me know. If you need directions or anything.”

“No, I’m - actually, do you know anything about tracking? Like through lightspeed.”

“Tracking through lightspeed is impossible.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“Are you saying the First Order . . .?”

“Can track us through lightspeed.”

“They can track us through lightspeed,” she repeated, voice quieter this time. “Active tracking.”

“What now?” 

“Hyperspeed tracking is new tech, but the principle must be the same as any active tracker,” Rose explained, eyes brightening. 

“So they’re only tracking us from the lead ship,” the two finished together. 

“But we can’t get to the tracker. It’s an A-class process, they control it from the main bridge.”

“I mean, yes, but every A-class processor has,” Finn began

“A dedicated power breaker,” the two chorused, matching grins beginning to form on both of their faces. 

“But, who knows where the breaker is on a star destroyer?”

Finn had hated his job when he was a stormtrooper. Sanitation was deemed the worst of the worst, and yet it seemed that his position as someone unimportant gave him all the knowledge he needed to bring the First Order to their knees. 

“Someone who used to mop their floors.”

Finn couldn’t help but beam now, they had a plan. He could see that Rose was already thinking the same thing and if they executed it perfectly, it could save the resistance.

“We’ll need a pilot,” Rose said.

“It’s lucky I know the best pilot in the galaxy then, isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the first part of five and I hoped you liked it.
> 
> I haven't written for these characters before so I hope they're in character. There is stuff from the comics in here, mainly Poe's and Leia's. 
> 
> The quotes "duty to others before duty to one’s self" and the part about "answer rage with wisdom, fear with imagination, and war with hope" are from Leia's comics.
> 
> This part probably has the most canon lines used in it, mainly because I suck at entry scenes so I kept Poe's conversation with Hux, and I have no idea how to write technological jargon. 
> 
> Part II will revolve around Luke and Rey, with appearances from Force Ghost Anakin and Force Ghost Obi-Wan. It will be up by next Monday at the latest. 
> 
> Here's my [tumblr](http://theyounggods.tumblr.com/) if you want to come yell at me about the story (which I would love).
> 
> Let me know what you thought of it.


	2. Act II

Rey stood arm outstretched and lightsaber extended towards Luke Skywalker. Her legs ached from the long trek up the mountain after spending so much time cramped in the Millenium Falcon, but she refused to let her exhaustion show. He was staring at her, eyes filled with an emotion she couldn’t decipher.

He walked over to her, eyes transfixed on the lightsaber which he took from her hand once he was close enough. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, as he turned the lightsaber around examining it. The lightsaber powered to life, a bright blue streak extending from the hilt. A heavy sigh fell from Luke’s mouth, his hand seemed to tremble for a moment before he turned the lightsaber off.

A thousand emotions were present in his eyes when he looked up at Rey. Agony, pain, confusion, and remembrance all melded together.

“It’s been . . . many years since I’ve seen this. Where did you find it?”

“On Takodana. Maz Kanata had it in her cantina.”

“Maz Kanata, the smuggler.” His eyes seemed to clearing as they spoke. “Han knew her.”

“He’s the one who took us there.”

“And where is he now? That was the Millenium Falcon you rode in on, he’d never let anyone else take it.”

Rey was speechless for a moment. How was she to tell him that his friend had died? How could he not already known? The General had know, she had felt it through the force - surely he would have as well.

“I - he -,” Rey closed her eyes, before uttering the words she had spent the last few days thinking of, “Kylo Ren killed him. He killed his own father.”

Even now it was difficult for her to accept. How could someone kill their father? She had spent her life waiting for her parents to return for her and they never did. But he had had his whole family who still believed there was light in him. Han Solo had died trying to bring his son back home. Even in the end, when Kylo had stabbed Han with his lightsaber, Han had still stroked his son’s face - forgiveness and love still there, even after the betrayal.

Rey would have given anything to have what Kylo Ren had thrown away.

“Han’s dead.” The words fell slowly from his mouth, as if he hadn’t understood what she said. “How?”

So, Rey began her tale. She started with Jakku and finding BB8 and Finn, escaping the First Order in the Millenium Falcon only to be caught once more by Han, meeting Maz Kanata and being kidnapped by Kylo Ren, to Han, Finn, and Chewbacca coming to rescue her on Starkiller Base. She told him of the confrontation Han had had with his son and the way Kylo had betrayed him, that Kylo Ren had then proceeded to hunt her and Finn down and how she had defeated him for the time being.

“Once Artoo awoke with the missing portion of the map Leia sent me to find you. To bring you back.”

Luke was silent. There were tear streaks along his cheeks and Rey felt guilty even asking him to leave after everything she had just told him. His friend had just died and she couldn’t even spare him a moment to grieve. 

“I can’t. Not yet. Not when I still haven’t -” He cut himself off.

“What do you mean you can’t? The resistance needs you. Your sister needs you!”

She knew she was coming on too strong. That perhaps she should have allowed him more time to think, to consider what he needed to do. But fury raged against her veins, how could he abandon his family when they needed him most?

“I know.” Remorse was thick in his voice. “But I can’t.”

He rose from where he had sat down on the rocks during Rey’s story and began to turn away. Rey followed after him, grabbing onto his shoulder to stop him.

“Then why did you leave a map? If you had no intention to ever return, why leave this behind?”

“It was incase of an emergency. If I was needed-”

“You are needed. The resistance spent months trying to find your map. If there was ever an emergency that you needed to return to, it’s happening now.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

She planted herself firmly in front of him. He genuinely seemed regretful that he couldn’t return with her, but Rey needed to know. She couldn’t have traveled this far to fail. She would not return to Leia empty handed once more.

“I will return to the resistance. But not now.”

“Any later might be too late. The resistance needs a Jedi.”

“Then maybe we should give it one.”

He turned, removing himself easily from her grasp and starting down the mountain.

“What?” Rey whispered to herself. 

There weren’t any other Jedi, Luke Skywalker was the last. 

“What does that mean?” she shouted after him.

“It means,” he tossed the lightsaber she had given him back over his shoulder without looking, Rey caught it with ease, “you should get some rest.”

“Me?” Rey mouthed, clutching the lightsaber to her chest. “Surely, he can’t expect me to-”

“By the way, you never told me your name.”

“It’s Rey.”

Luke halted then, almost stumbling over the rocky terrain. He turned and stared, almost as if he were seeing her for the first time again. His face had turned carefully blank. Before Rey could ask if he was all right, he shook his head and turned back around.

“Prepare for an early morning, Rey. The Jedi wait for no one.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke felt like a child again - hiding away in his room to avoid confronting his problems. It was too much information to process in one go. Han was dead. Han had been murdered by his own son. The son Luke had trained. It had been years since he had destroyed the Jedi Temple, murdering his Jedi classmates who would not join him, and attempting to murder Luke himself.

And now Han was dead, because of Luke’s failures. 

Han who had been with him from the start of his journey. Han who had saved his life over and over again. In his mind, Han was still the scoundrel Luke had met on Tatooine. The relief and pure joy that had shot through his veins when Han returned to help Luke and the rebels destroy the Death Star was still palpable. He could still feel the warmth of the hug he had given him after, the way he had gripped onto him tightly the both of them smiling so hard it left their cheeks aching. 

The last time he had seen Han, he had promised to bring his son back safely. That Ben Solo would return as a Jedi Knight.

And now he was gone.

And then there was Leia. How would she be feeling now? She had told him once how she struggled back in the days of the Empire in leading the rebellion. How she felt as if she couldn’t grieve for her parents or her planet, that she had to be strong at all times or the rebellion would crumble around her. She was alone again now and as a General, more isolated than ever. 

Luke longed to return, but how could he face her after all this time? When he had nothing to show for his disappearance and even less to offer to the rebellion.

He would train Rey in his stead and hope that she was enough until he was ready to return.

Rey. 

Even thinking her name was difficult. 

Rey who was from Jakku. Rey who was strong with the force. Rey who had the Skywalker lightsaber.

Was she his Rey?

He could open himself up to the force and find out. 

But he already knew. Leia would not have sent her otherwise. There were others who would have simply dragged him back to Leia, whether he chose to go or not. Instead, she had sent Rey.

Leia had always had a gift of knowing everyone’s weakness.

A pounding on the door cut off his musings. He stood, prepared to open it when the door suddenly flew off its hinges, in its place stood a giant mass of brown fur. Chewbacca roared out a greeting as he swooped into the house and pulled Luke into his arms.

“Chewie!” Luke’s words were muffled as his body was squished against Chewbacca’s. “It’s good to see you.”

Chewbacca released another roar as he let go of Luke.

“I heard about Han.” Chewie threw his head back and howled mournfully in response. “I should have been there. I’m sorry.”

Chewie let loose a barrage of howls and roars, the words coming so fast that Luke struggled to identify the few words he even knew of Shyriiwook. Still, he could identify his own name thrown in amongst the midst, as well as Han, Leia, and Rey’s. Near the end he thought he heard something about the rebel base along with an accusing tone.

“I can’t go back yet, Chewie. After everything that’s happened with Han, I can’t go back without having found anything.”

Before Chewbacca could form a response, a shrill beeping filled the room. R2D2 rolled furiously in through the doorway, his body ramming into Chewbacca as he raced to get to Luke.

“Artoo?” R2D2 beeped happily in response as Luke knelt down beside him. “Artoo!”

Luke brought his hand up to R2D2’s head and rubbed it in greeting. R2D2’s happy greeting turned into a series of accusing beeps.

“Yes, I know. Rey told me.”

R2’s beeps grew even more shrill at that. 

“I can’t go back yet and watch your language, we’re on a sacred island.”

If anything, R2D2’s language grew more foul, the anger and sadness is his words blending together.

“I’m going to come back Artoo. But I need more time.”

R2 stared at him mournfully, letting loose one last beep. Luke could only smile.

“I’ve missed you, old friend.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Form One is Shii-Cho. It is the most simple combat form and focuses on disarming your opponent.”

Rey stared at him. When he mentioned training, she had assumed it would be something more advanced than disarming.

“I know how to disarm someone,” Rey told him. “I was a scavenger on Jakku. I know how to fight.”

Luke looked at her unimpressed, before he turned on his own lightsaber - a green streak extending out from the hilt.

“Then disarm me.”

It was a trap. Rey knew it was a trap. Still, she barreled forward, striking out with her own lightsaber arcing it out and around to strike Luke’s from underneath. Luke simply stepped out of the way, leaving Rey stumbling forward. 

She tried again and again and again. Only to fail each and every time. Luke would always win, leaving her stumbling and falling into the dirt until she was left covered in sweat and gasping for breath.

“Teach me how to do it?” she asked after what felt like the hundredth time.

Luke smiled.

 

“The second form is Makashi and if you’re going to be fighting against my nephew, you’re going to need to know it. It focuses on defense and preventing disarmament. The moves are precise, but the footwork is simple.” 

 

“Sit here, legs crossed,” Luke instructed, pointing at a rock that overlooked the island.

Rey complied, pleased that she would finally be allowed to sit. Her arms and legs were aching from her lessons with Luke from the past four days. It was a good ache, the kind that showed advancement, but it ached nonetheless.

“The force is not a power you have. It’s the energy between all things. The tension. The balance that binds the universe together.”

“Okay?” His words had not made anything clearer, perhaps this would be worse than learning lightsaber forms. “What is it?”

“Close your eyes.” Hesitantly, she obeyed. “Breathe.”

She released a breath, but her shoulders remained tense.

“You need to relax,” he pushed her hands from her lap and placed it on the rock she was sitting on, “act as if you’re preparing to meditate.”

“Okay.” Rey loosened the tension from her body. She breathed in deeply and when she exhaled she tried to keep her mind blank. “Now what?”

“Breathe. Reach out with your feelings.”

Rey did as he instructed. A part of her feeling silly. She breathed out, pushing at the boundaries of her mind. Her face creased in concentration, as she reached out and . . . Oh!

She could see it now, clearly as if it had been in her sight the whole time. She could see the island, as if she was viewing it from the Millenium Falcon flying above. She could feel the life force of the porgs and the caretakers across the land, even in the plants. And in the ground she knew where skeletons lay, decaying. She could feel the sun bearing down on the island and the cold in the water.

“What do you see?”

“The island. Life. Death and decay, that feeds new life. Warmth. Cold. Peace. Violence.”

“And between it all?”

There was light all around, she could feel it burning bright in the air, heavy in the space where she knew Luke was present. But there was darkness too, a heavy weight that filled in the gaps between the light. Yet, it was alluring as if it had something to offer Rey, but she could feel the danger around it as well. 

And there between it all was the balance between the two. 

“Balance. Energy. A force.”

“And inside you?

“Inside me? That same force.”

“Then this is the lesson. That force does not belong to the Jedi. To say that if the Jedi die the light dies is damning. The Jedi have created as much light as they have dark in this universe - to only acknowledge half of that truth is to doom history to repeat itself. Can you feel that?”

Rey opened her mouth to respond when she felt something else. It felt as if there was a rope around her, as if she was tied to something. She could feel the force living inside her, but there was something else - something was attached to her.

“There’s something else . . .”

She reached out further, determined to see just what was holding onto her. It felt warm, bright, and comforting. It was as if she was living through her highest moments, the way she had felt when Finn came back for her, the way it felt when she thought of her parents - the way they had loved her before they left. 

“What is it?”

But there was something else there too. The sorrow she felt, screaming for her parents when they had left her, the way it felt when she scratched out a new day that she had been waiting on Jakku, the intense fear when she had first grabbed a hold of Luke’s lightsaber in Maz Kanata’s tavern. 

Stray rocks are the ground began to rise, floating in the air around her.

“Rey!” 

Luke’s voice was louder in her ear now, but she couldn’t turn back. Whatever it was, was in her reach. If she just pulled on it a little harder, she could -

The ground split beneath them.

“Rey!”

She jerked back, eyes flying open to stare at Luke. The rocks that had been floating in the air before crashed to the ground. Anguish filled her, she had been so close to seeing whatever it was. She had wanted it more than anything and now it was gone.

“What was it, Rey?”

“I - I don’t know.”

Luke was quiet as he stared at her, but his eyes were tumultuous. Carefully, he brought his hand up to her cheek and wiped off her tears. She hadn’t even realised she had been crying.

“I should have prepared you more. The dark side-”

“It wasn’t the dark side. It was light, There was comfort there. I just - I wanted to see it. To keep it.” She stared up at him, eyes desperate and pleading. “What was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Surely you can feel it? It was . . . it was everything.”

Luke bowed his head in shame. 

“I haven’t felt anything in the force for a long time. I cut myself off from it over a year ago now.”

“But why?”

Luke shook his head. “You should rest, we’ll be practicing forms again tomorrow.” 

 

 

“Form three is Soresu. In order for this move to work you must give yourself over to the force, you must find your balance and in return the force will show you your opponent's movements, so you’ll be able to block attacks.”

 

“You need to focus. If you don’t believe you can lift the rock then you never will.”

Rey rearranged herself and stared intently at the rock in front of her. Trying to remember how it had felt when the Skywalker lightsaber had flown into her hand on Starkiller Base. But the rock remained where it was.

“When will I ever need to lift rocks? Shouldn’t we go back to learning the lightsaber forms.”

“The force does not exist for lightsaber battles and to only use it as such would be a disgrace. When we were fighting the Empire, I needed the force often and only half the time did it involve an actual lightsaber or blaster. If you can learn how to use the force correctly, you can save lives.”

Rey’s resolve seemed to grow at that.

“Show me how again?”

 

“There are two variations of form five, Shien and Djem So. Both of these forms stem from form three. Shien will allow you to redirect blaster bolts towards your opponents. Similarly, Djem So will allow you to redirect the force to block an attack in a lightsaber duel and redirect that energy towards your opponent.”

 

“Now that the Jedi are extinct they are romanticized, deified. If you strip away the mysticism of their deeds, you see the Jedi’s failures. Hypocrisy, hubris.”

“That’s not true,” Rey defended.

“At the height of their power, they allowed Darth Sidious to rise, create the empire, and light the mount. It was a Jedi Master who was responsible for the training and creation of Darth Vader.”

“And a Jedi who saved him.”

“Yes, because the Jedi Order was extinct by the time I became one. The Jedi Order was wrong on many things. They became negligent and harsh. They didn’t believe in emotional attachments.”

“But they were supposed to defend people. How could they protect planets if they weren’t allowed to care for the people in it?”

“Emotions were a weakness, a distraction. The prime Jedi would have no attachments, he would be able to perform his duty without fail, without bias. There would never be a worry of whether or not a Jedi would turn rogue to protect one individual over the many. They recruited their members shortly after birth, raising them so that they followed the Jedi code.”

“That sounds like a dictatorship.”

“That wasn’t the intention, of course. There was a council, if there was something important, they would vote on it like a democracy. But the Order was obsessed with their image. They cared about the Jedi as a whole, not as individuals. Corruption was inevitable, when they relied on the Senate. The idea for the Jedi was good, but it wasn’t executed right.”

Rey was silent for a long moment.

“I don’t want to be a Jedi like that,” she said at last. “I can’t just cut myself off. I can’t not care.”

“If you don’t want to be a Jedi, you don’t have to. No one will force you.”

“No, I want to be a Jedi, but one like you. Someone who fights for the light because they care. Someone who will fight for what’s right, like you did.”

 

“Form seven is Juyo and it is perhaps the most difficult and certainly the most dangerous. Do you remember how I said the Jedi Order forbid emotional attachments.”

“Of course. It didn’t make any sense.”

“This technique is the opposite of that. Emotions are channeled into the lightsaber duel, the chaotic energy that follows allows you to be unpredictable. The Jedi Master Mace Windu came up with a second half to form seven, Vapad. In which the Jedi would become a conduit of sorts to transmit their opponents negative emotions back at them.”

“Why’s it dangerous?”

“The Jedi believed that this fighting style brought the user closer to the Dark Side.”

“Does it?”

“I don’t know.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Tell me, how do you think a Jedi turns against the light?”

They were sitting around a fire. Rey was supposed to be meditating, clearing her mind and connecting with the force as she had been doing every night since she arrived on Ahch-To. Luke usually left her to work on it alone, occasionally he would join and meditate himself, but tonight was the first time he spoke to her.

“They want something that the Jedi forbid like emotions or power.”

“You’re not completely wrong, but it is a bit more complicated than that.”

“How so?”

“Do you know the reason why my father went to the dark side?”

Rey leaned forward then, intrigued. She hadn’t ever heard the story of why Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, she wasn’t sure that anyone outside of Luke, and possibly Leia, knew. 

“No.”

“He wanted to save my mother. He had these visions of things that were going to happen in the future. He had had them about his mother and hadn’t been able to save her. Darth Sidious offered him a way to control life, he promised him that my mother would be safe. The dark side would protect her. He turned to save her and she died anyways.”

“Why didn’t he go to the Jedi? Surely they would have helped him.”

“The Jedi didn’t believe in cheating death. There are things in the force that should not be touched and that is one of them.”

“How did she die?”

“It was in childbirth. After my father turned against the Jedi, he was gravely injured in a fight against Ben Kenobi. Darth Sidious used the force to steal my mother’s lifeforce and feed it into my father’s dying body. She died because he wanted to save her.”

Rey was horrified. Darth Vader had always been a story in her head, a nightmare for children, the monster that hid under the bed. He was supposed to be dark and horrible, not someone she felt sympathy for. But if what Luke said was true and he turned to save the person he loved, well then she could understand why Luke had been determined to bring him back to the side of the light. 

“That’s horrible.”

“That’s the point. The dark side doesn’t show up with a First Order insignia emblazoned on its shirt. It shows up as something you want, what you need and desire most. When the dark side comes for you, and it will, you need to be strong enough to stop it. Anything it offers is a trick.”

Rey would never turn to the dark side. She wouldn’t. But how could she stop it? How would she know when the time came? What if she ended up like Darth Vader, deceived and hurting the people he had cared about most?

“Is that what happened with your nephew? With Kylo Ren?”

“Kylo Ren,” Luke scoffed. “He was always Ben Organa to me.”

“Organa? Not Solo?”

“My sister is one of the last living members of the planet Alderaan. She is the last living member of the royal family there. Of course her son would have her family's name.”

“I hadn’t realized . . .”

“No, you’re young and you lived on Jakku. If you looked for Alderaan from there, you’d still see it, even though it’s been gone for decades. And no, Ben didn’t turn for the same reasons as my father.”

Luke was silent for a long moment and Rey was sure the conversation was over. She had no right to dig into his family's history. If he didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t make him.

“Ben -” Rey startled at the sound of Luke’s voice. “Ben was turned by Snoke. Snoke has been alive for decades, maybe even centuries. He was around for the rise and fall of the Empire and in the dysfunction that followed he grew to power - taking control of planets that were struggling politically and economically to find their place once the Empire was gone. He knows more about the force than anyone alive, both the light and the dark.”

“Snoke invaded Ben’s mind from a young age, slowly poisoning him with thoughts and promises of what the dark side could offer him. Leia did her best to combat it, she could feel Snoke’s influence growing stronger on Ben - she wasn’t enough to defeat Snoke on her own, not when he had entwined himself with Ben. Snoke was able to be at Ben’s side every waking moment, but Leia couldn’t.”

“Ben was a good kid. He loved the force and he helped people. We knew there was good in him and when Leia realized she was losing him, she sent him to me. I was the one who brought our father back from the dark side, despite the fact that he had been there for years. She believed that I’d be able to do it. That I could save Ben and I thought I could too.”

“Ben was likeable even then. He got on well with the other Jedi initiates I had agreed to train. He was even kind at times, he helped students who had trouble with their forms and encouraged them when they failed. But there was always something darker brewing there, times where he would snap and burst. I still remember the fear I had felt when he used force lightning to attack another student during a duel. It was meant to be a friendly competition, but Ben was vicious taking joy in his opponents pain.”

“I told him about my father, the way I just told you. I warned him about what the dark side had to offer and not to trust it, but it wasn’t enough. He idolized him, not Anakin Skywalker, but Darth Vader. He wanted the power that Vader had once held, he thirsted for it.”

“I was blind. I thought I had more time to fix him, to bring him back to Leia as the son she had given birth to. The boy who picked flowers for the sick and who climbed around the Millenium Falcon like it was a playground. I was wrong. He had been meeting with some of the other Jedi initiates, plotting against me. He promised them what they wanted - he’s like Leia in that way, he always had a way of knowing what someone desire most. He was persuasive like Han - convincing them to do his bidding in only a few words, he could make dirt seem like gold. Snoke corrupted his mind and Ben corrupted theirs.”

“They attacked at night. Ben came for me and we dueled, but I couldn’t kill him - not the way he was trying to kill me. When he got the upper hand he collapsed the building over us. When I woke he was gone, the temple was on fire and all my initiates who hadn’t followed him were dead.”

“I went after him. I spent months searching, only to be one step behind at all moments. But Ben went too far next, he went after someone important to me. I stopped then. Chasing after Ben wouldn’t fix things. I needed to find a way to expel Snoke from his mind, to free him of the poison that was choking him.”

“I came here to look for answers, to find some hidden Jedi knowledge that would allow me to save Ben and I’ve been looking ever since. Here and on all the Jedi planets surrounding here, but there is nothing. Whatever arcane lore Snoke found and used to invade Ben’s mind is nowhere to be found. It isn’t just that Snoke’s voice is in Ben’s head, it is that Snoke has bound his soul to Ben’s. There are no Jedi texts on how to reverse such a process, there are no texts on such a process existing.”

“That is why I cannot return to the resistance. I cannot return to Leia without a way to save her son. I cannot return with nothing after I’ve abandoned her for so long, after I’ve abandoned . . . If I return now, then all of this was for nothing. It can’t have been for nothing.”

“I will not return until I can save Ben.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you feel?”

They were on the far side of the island today, so close to the edge of the land that Rey could feel water splashing against her skin as it slammed against the rocks. A gaping hole covered most of the surface of where they stood, it was pitch black with dark tangled roots around the edges. Rey hadn’t realized it until now, but she had been avoiding this side of the island - it felt wrong and unnatural. 

Closing her eyes, she reached out with the force, determined to answer Luke correctly. Light and darkness greeted her, before they were pushed aside - something was shoving them away from where she stood. In the area surrounding them was nothing. The force was there - she knew it was - but there was no light, no darkness, no balance. It felt empty. 

“There’s nothing here,” she looked over at Luke. 

“But how does that make you feel?”

“Wrong, like what’s here shouldn’t exist. It hurts to look at.”

“Good. This is going to be the most important thing you learn while you’re here. So, pay attention.”

Rey straightened, setting her shoulders and planting her feet. She was ready, whatever it was she could do it.

“What do I do?”

“You have to go in.”

“And do what?” Rey neared the edge. 

“Whatever you think you must. Everyone sees something different.”

Rey hesitated on the edge. Going into a dark hole in the ground where she couldn’t see anything didn’t seem like the safest thing, but she trusted Luke. If he told her she needed to do this, then she would do it. She grabbed ahold of her lightsaber and looked down below, trying to make out anything that was down below - but she could see nothing. She stole one last glance towards, Luke and then dropped in.

It was lighter inside the hole. Dim beams of light broke through the darkness, but Rey couldn’t pinpoint where they were coming from. The tangled mass of roots and vines were all sprawled as far as she could see. Cold air rushed at her, leaving her chilled. The ground was soft and malleable beneath her feet, damp in places from where the pond in the center of the room had splashed against. 

Rey moved forward steadily, careful to not trip over large chunks of rocks that were scattered across the floor. She walked forward for what felt like hours, cutting through the dangling roots and vines whenever they obscured her path, the pond stretching on infinitely next to her. She wasn’t sure what she was walking towards, but she knew she was going the right direction.

She pushed the next vine away only to find that the cavern stretched out into a circle she could not see the ends of. Rey paused before walking in, there was something there. She could feel it. Her heartbeat quickened and sweat began to build on her neck as she moved closer to whatever was there.

A body came into view. Sprawled across the floor, blood spilled out beneath it. Her eyes widened at the sight of it, but she stepped closer still. There was something familiar there - something . . . 

“Finn!” she screamed, recognizing her friend’s face instantly.

She ran to him, feet skidding over the ground until she fell on the ground beside him. In an instant she was cradling his body, holding it close to hers. The body was cold against her. Her hands trailed over his face, clutched at his arms, as tears began to roll down her cheeks. 

“Finn!”

It couldn’t be Finn. Finn was safe on D’Qar, Rey had brought him back. He was injured, but he was going to be fine. She knew he would. He couldn’t be here, dead in her arms.

Beneath her the damp soil, turned to snow. Trees sprouted where the vines had been. She was back on Starkiller Base, but Kylo Ren was nowhere to be seen. Rey knew she needed to move, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t leave Finn, he was her friend. She couldn’t -

Her eyes caught on something ahead of her. There was another body. Her hands shook as she lowered Finn back to the ground, she caressed his cheek in sorrow. Grief filling her body as she forced herself to stand, legs shaking as she moved to see who else was there.

Han Solo lay sprawled across the ground, a gaping wound in his stomach where he had been stabbed. Rey muffled the sob that rose from her mouth. There not much further away was Leia Organa, her heart bleeding red into the white snow. Luke was next, agony twisted across his features, his hands reaching for something he would never reach. 

Rey fell to her knees beside him, clutching onto his extend hand and lowering it across his body. Her vision blurred from the tears that were now freely spilling. She was alone now. Everyone she cared about lay dead in a place that didn’t exist. Her grief felt like it was choking her, burrowing deep into her soul and embedding itself.

The snow crunched behind her. 

Rey was on her feet in an instant, spinning around to see Kylo Ren. His mask was on, hiding his face from her. Blood covered his clothes and the snow around him, tainting it. His red lightsaber glowed around him, basking his figure in a haunting red. 

“You killed them! You killed all of them!”

Rey did not wait for a response, freeing her lightsaber from her side before she charged. Their blades crashed together, the two meeting in a giant clash before parting and slamming together once more. Rey was vicious as she gained on him, attacking without remorse, not noticing that Kylo Ren never said a word to her accusations that she spat wildly at him. 

Hatred and fury raged through her veins and she used it against him, tunneling her emotions into a barrage of assaults until she had him cornered. Face contorted she raised her blade, ready to execute him - the man who had stolen everyone she cared for. But as she moved to slash her blade down, she fell back.

She collided with the pond from before, rushing through the water only to come out standing on the other side. She was back in the cavern now, alone. Frantically, she turned around in circles, lightsaber swinging wildly about.

“I could help your friends.”

A man stepped out from the shadows. Yellow dress robes trailed across the floor as he neared her. His misshapen head was split down the middle with a scar. 

“Snoke,” Rey seethed. “You! You did all of this! You made him kill them!”

Rey charged him, lifting her lightsaber to attack only to freeze, body locked into place.

“I did nothing of the sort. Kylo Ren chose to do that on his own.”

“Liar!”

“Your friends mean nothing to me. They are nothing but a nuisance - a bug buzzing in my ear. They are not a threat.”

The bodies appeared once more. Finn, Han, Leia, Luke, and now Chewbacca and BB8 as well.

“Why would I believe you? You’ve done nothing but bring darkness to the galaxy, like the Sith before you.”

“I am not a Sith, just as I am not a Jedi. I am more than that. I have powers that both sides could only dream of. Life. Death. I can control it all.”

Around her the dead bodies rose to life. They fumbled about as if they couldn’t see her. Finn was smiling, speaking to BB8 who beeped excitedly. Leia, Han, Luke, and Chewbacca stood united together, smiling wider than Rey had ever seen them. Their faces were vibrant, alive.

“This is a trick. An illusion.”

“It isn’t.”

The bodies stopped mid-motion. The pond stilled and the water that had been falling from the ceiling since Rey had arrived froze in mid-air. 

“Your friends can live. Your parents can return to you. This war can end. Kylo Ren is expendable.”

Rey remembered holding Finn’s lifeless body in her hands. The gaping hole in Han Solo’s stomach. Leia’s bleeding heart. Luke reaching for something right in front of him. 

Maybe she could save them.

“What do you want?”

“An apprentice.”

A yes hung on the tip of her tongue, but Luke’s face caught her eyes. He had told her about his father not even a week ago. His father who had been promised life and only given death in return. But, he had only been promised one life. Rey had been offered to change the fate of the galaxy, to bring her friends back, to reunite with her parents. 

Everything that she had ever wanted was dangling at her fingertips.

But the air was cold and the force was screaming angrily around her. 

“No.” She wrenched herself from his force grip, moving her lightsaber to the offense position. “I will never join you. I am a Jedi, now and forever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stars beaconed to Luke as he stared up at them. He sat on the edge of a cliff, cold air beating against him. He would have to send Rey back soon. Weight bore on his shoulders at the thought. How could he send her away to fight against his nephew and Snoke? His heart ached with longing to return, but failure ate at the edges of his thoughts. He would only fail Leia again if he returned now, but if he let Rey go now would he not be failing her as well?

There was no right answer. Hope had been slipping through his fingers for some time now. It was the reason he cut himself off from the force, an unbelievably foolish decision, but it had been corrupting his thoughts before. Every time he had searched for a new answer, read the Jedi texts or searched the force he always came up with nothing. The darkness in the force had seemed heightened then, blocking out the light until he could only feel despair at his failures, at what he had allowed to happen to his nephew and the galaxy in his wake. 

Perhaps it was time to reexamine his stance. He had been considering it for some time, even before Rey arrived with the Millenium Falcon, R2D2, and Chewbacca all of which left him feeling heavy with guilt and shame. 

Slowly, he closed his eyes. Then, ever so tentatively, he began to reach out - striking down the wall he had built to keep the force out of his head. It was as if he had hurled himself down into the water below. The force engulfed him, flooding through his body and expanding his mind. Light and darkness greeted him. Old companions that were a comfort after all this time.

Luke gasped as he felt something else.

It was burning bright all around him. Warmth rushed through his veins. The memory of his father returning to the light, the feel of his sister and Han hugging him, the moment he had first held his child in his hands. Pure ecstasy consumed him. Tainted only by the memory of his family dying - his father, Ben, his aunt and uncle. The way it had felt when he heard what happened to Mara Jade. The pure anguish that flooded his soul when he had to leave his only child behind to protect her.

It was Rey, Luke realized.

Rey, his daughter, was calling out to him.

The force was welling up and spilling over with her longing.

How could he have left her for so long?

Tears rolled across his cheek as Rey’s emotions hit him.

Her fear of abandonment was devastating. Her patience was endless, it was a string of thousands of lines scrawled out. Her loyalty was unparalleled, that longing to be accepted and to have someone who accepted her cutting through him so deeply it felt as if the emotion belonged to him alone. Light welled in her, the need and desire to do good - not to help herself but because she believed others deserved better. She would fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.

She had waited years for him and he had never returned.

His body shook and the waves below him trembled as he allowed her emotions in.

He would have basked in the new feelings all night, if another presence hadn’t appeared.

Leia appeared in front of him. She was in a ship, handling out orders to every person who came her way. A list of the dead was projected beside her, a reading of low fuel was visible as well. Leia appeared calm and in control, but Luke could feel the doubt within her - he could feel hope beginning to slip through her fingers. She felt alone and lost within inner turmoil that she couldn’t share with anyone else. She would do her duty, but on the inside she was splintering.

“Leia,” he whispered.

Darkness surrounded the ship, chasing after it like a phantom. There would be no outrunning this problem, whatever was coming for them would be upon them soon and they would have to face it outright. The force pulsated and festered, the dark side swallowing the light with each passing second. Soon there would be no light left there. There would be no balance. Only darkness.

And there trailing behind it all was Ben. Ben who had killed his father and who was now hunting his mother. Snoke’s presence was even louder, a black hole in the force, swallowing and spitting out every piece of light that it came into contact with. 

Soon it would be upon Leia. 

No, Luke thought, resolve forming. 

Without a second thought, Luke raced to his feet and ran down the mountain. He burst into the room Rey was staying at, the door banging against the bricks, causing Rey to shoot up in alarm, blaster aimed at where he stood in seconds.

“Luke?” she asked at the sight of him.

“We’re leaving. Now.”

“We? You’re coming with us?”

“Yes. Get your stuff.”

Rey did as she was told, throwing all of her stuff into her bag before shoving her feet into her shoes.

“What’s happened? Why did you change your mind?”

“Leia needs me. I should have never waited this long. I can’t leave her there.”

In minutes they were standing outside the Millennium Falcon, with Chewie inside preparing the engines for take off. Rey was halfway up the ramp when she noticed Luke and R2D2 weren’t following.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Not in the Falcon.”

“There isn’t any other ship on this island.”

“Isn’t there?” 

The water in the ocean beside them began to bubble, rumbling at a disturbance from underneath. A ship sprang out from the water, floating in the air before moving and landing on the ground beside them. Rey stared at him in awe.

“How will you know how to find your way? You don’t have a tracker.”

“I know where Leia is. We’ll be fine. Go.”

“Then I’ll see you soon,” Rey promised before turning and going up the rest of the ramp.

“Rey,” Luke called once she reached the top. She turned. “May the force be with you.”

“And you.”

Luke watched as she boarded the Falcon and drove away, the ship becoming a point in the night sky. Without turning around, Luke spoke.

“I know you’re there.”

“Are you going to listen this time?” his father’s voice came from beside him.

His blue force form shimmered in the air as he stared down at his son.

“I don’t believe you’re the one who should be lecturing on listening,” Ben Kenobi said.

Luke turned to face them.

“I know, I should have listened before. But I needed time.”

“And now?” his father asked.

“And now I feel ashamed. I abandoned my sister when she needed me. I left my daughter on a desert planet as if that would keep her safe and ran away.”

“You were trying to protect her, as I protected you. After Ben attacked Mara, it was only logical to send Rey away. It was the only way you could ensure her protection. I should know, I did the same with you,” Ben said.

“I guess I was always too much like you in that way.” Luke sighed. “How do I tell her the truth?”

“The next time you see her, tell her. She’ll forgive you, Luke,” his father told him. “She’s so much like you. The light inside of her is yours. She’ll understand, why you did what you did.”

“And if I can’t be a father to her? If she rejects that, then what?”

R2 beeped furiously at that. 

“Artoo!” Luke exclaimed at the foul language.

Anakin laughed, while Ben looked aghast.

“Artoo is right. Obi-Wan and I have been watching over her for some time now, she wants her family back more than anything.”

“She thinks her family abandoned her, Luke. She’ll feel better knowing the truth. She will find out eventually, it will be better if she hears it from you and not her enemy.”

“And Leia? How do I return to Leia now and tell her that I have nothing to save her son? That even killing Snoke could mean killing Ben.”

“Your sister doesn’t need you to have something to save Ben,” his father said. “She just needs you to be there.”

“And when the time is right, Luke, you will know what you have to do. Balance will be restored to the force in time. The light you’ve fought for all your life is still there.”

Luke nodded. He could feel the light again now. He would do what he had to to protect it and all the people in the galaxy who depended on it. He spared a glance at to where his ship waited for him, anxiety built in his stomach at the thought of finally returning.

“Go, Luke,” his father told him. “Your sister is waiting.”

“Thank you, for everything,” he told the two of them. 

“Remember, if you need us, you only need to look towards the force and we will be there.”

The two vanished as quickly as they arrived. With a plan now in mind, Luke boarded his ship - R2 sliding into his spot in the back like old times. It was as they rode off into the distance that the twin sun’s began to rise, their lights burning in the distance behind him.

It seemed as if his journey was not yet finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was part II. 
> 
> I hope you guys like what I did with Luke's character. I went into tlj with a lot of questions about his character and walked out with all those questions still unanswered so I hope I was able to clarify the reason Luke left and why he didn't want to return for you guys.
> 
> I imagine the scenes where Luke is training Rey as a sort of montage that would happen over the month that she was at the island, which is why I wrote it the way that I did. 
> 
> For the cave scene I decided to make Rey's biggest fear abandonment, rather than something just about her parents. I think part of her let go her parents returning after Maz told her they weren't ever going to, but I think she still fears that the people she loves are going to leave her. I also think that her and Anakin are quite similar, in the fact that they are willing to do anything to save the people they love and I wanted to draw that parallel with the darkness that tempted her being the same that turned Anakin.
> 
> Shout out to google for making it seem like I know stuff about Jedi training.
> 
>  
> 
> Let me know what you guys think, the comments left were the main reason this was up so quickly! Here's my [tumblr](http://theyounggods.tumblr.com/) if you guys want to follow or ask me questions about the story on there.
> 
> Part III which will bring us back to Finn, Poe, Rose, and Leia will probably be up by Monday or Tuesday!


	3. Act III

“Just give it to me one more time, simpler.”

Poe was leaning back, staring up at where Finn and Rose stood. To say he had been surprised to see the two of them together and with a plan would have been an understatement. He had already begun brainstorming ways to make their plan of attack more proactive after General Leia had finished speaking to him.

“So, the First Order’s only tracking us from one destroyer - the lead one.”

“So, we blow it up?”

“I like where your head's at, but no they’d only start tracking us from another destroyer. But if we sneak onboard the lead destroyer and disable the tracker without them realizing-”

“They won’t realize it’s off for one system cycle - about six minutes,” Rose cut in, bringing up the schematics of the destroyer on a console in the room.

“We sneak onboard, disable the tracker, our fleet escapes before they realize it,” Finn finished.

The two of them stared at him, matching apprehensive smiles across their faces. It was a good plan, Poe had to admit - better even than the General’s. Poe stood, running the schematics of the plan around in his head, before turning and pointing between Finn and Rose.

“How’d you two meet?”

“We ran into each other in the medbay,” Rose said.

Poe hesitated then, guilt filling in his stomach. Of course Finn might need to return to the medbay, he had only just woken from a coma and his injuries still had to be bothering him. Poe had stolen him away before he had even got checked off by a medical droid - too used to his own refusal to stay in bed. 

“Finn, are you okay? Your back must be killing you.” Poe was at Finn’s side in seconds. “Here, sit down.”

Poe gently gripped onto Finn’s arm and nudged him into sitting down. Poe settled down beside him.

“No, Poe. It’s fine. I just got lost.”

Rose was watching the two of them with something akin to amusement across her face.

“Your back doesn’t hurt at all then?” 

Finn hesitated just a moment before saying, “No. Not at all.”

Poe allowed the matter to drop, but made a side note to find some pain medication to give to Finn before they took off on this mission.

“Poe we got to do this. It’ll save the fleet and it’ll save Rey.”

Finn’s eyes were locked onto Poe’s, serious and hopeful. 

“Okay, how are we going to do this?”

“We need you to be the pilot,” Rose chimed in.

“Done. The question is how do we sneak onto Snoke’s destroyers?”

“We steal clearance codes.”

“No,” Finn said. “They’re bio hexacrypt and re-scrambled every hour. We can’t get through their security shields undetected. Nobody can.”

Despair had begun to leak into Finn’s voice, but Poe was already coming up with a solution. 

“No.” Poe pointed his finger at Finn. “Someone can.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


“Could I do it? Of course I could do it,” Maz told them through their holographic projector.

Finn, Poe, and Rose shared matching smiles at the news.

“Think you can reach Cantonica in the next few hours?” Poe asked.

Maz rolled her eyes at him, looking put out at the fact that he believed there was anything she couldn’t do - she hadn’t lived a thousand years for nothing. 

“Where are we meeting? Canto Bight?”

“No. Threepio has some of his spies working at a storage facility on the far side of the planet, we’ll have our pick of ships there.”

“Then I will see you soon. It is time the First Order receive retribution for what they did to my cantina.”

Without another word the holographic projector shut off.

“We’re really doing this,” Rose’s breathless voice broke through the silence that followed. “We’re going to infiltrate the First Order’s main destroyer.”

“Yeah,” Finn’s voice had grown solemn at the reminder. “We are.”

Poe felt his heart tug as he looked at Finn. Finn who had defected against being a stormtrooper, despite the fact that he had been indoctrinated at a young age to believe in the First Order. Finn who had returned BB-8 to the resistance despite having no reason to do so. Finn who returned to the First Order’s main base to save Rey and to help destroy the Starkiller Base, only to end up horribly injured. Finn who was willing to do it all again to save people he had never met before.

“If we do this, we have to stand a united front. Finn,” Poe grabbed ahold of his shoulder, “are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m not going to let them win. I’m in.”

“Rose?”

“I’ve spent most of my time in the resistance hidden behind pipes. I think it’s time I do something bigger - for Paige.”

“All right,” Poe gave a squeeze to both of their shoulders before letting go, “Let’s go convince the General.”

Poe lead the way to the new makeshift bridge that had been thrown together in the chaos of the First Order’s most recent attack - Finn and Rose following behind. In the middle of the new bridge, General Leia stood Admiral Holdo beside her giving her debrief.

“We’ve finally recieved communications from the rest of the resistance. Everyone else has reached their intended evacuation points and are awaiting commands. The squadrons particularly are demanding retribution - they wish to join us here and attack the First Order.”

“No,” General Leia said. “We don’t have the fuel and if the First Order reaches us now, we need someone to keep the resistance alive. Tell them to send out transmissions for assistance - we’ll take what we can get.”

“Already done. Although, with the spotty connection our messages are having a difficult time being transmitted. It’s impossible to tell if they’ve been received until we receive a reply.”

“Keep sending them. Check to see if anyone’s been in contact with Lando Calrissian or Wedge Antilles.” The General dismissed her, before turning to where Poe, Finn, and Rose were waiting. “Commander Dameron, Finn, and Rose, what do you have for me?”

“We know how to stop the First Order from tracking the ship.”

General Leia lifted an eyebrow in reply. Poe nodded his head at Finn.

“They’re only tracking us from the lead destroyer, so we sneak onboard and disable the tracking device.”

“We have six minutes after the device is turned off before they’ll notice, enough time to jump to lightspeed,” Rose said.

“We’ll get a ship off of Cantonica, Threepio has some of his droid spy network situated there.”

“I prefer the term operatives,” C-3PO chimed in.

“Maz Kanata’s already agreed to be our codebreaker to get us onto the destroyer. From there Finn will get us to the breaker, and Rose will disable the tracker.”

“You’ve given this a lot of thought,” General Leia said.

“If we get to Crait, there’s no guarantee we’ll have back up by then. We’ll be trapped by the First Order,” Poe’s tone was desperate, pleading. “We can save the fleet.”

The General stared at him for a moment, her kneen eyes scanning over him and Rose and Finn, before she settled them back on him.

“There isn’t anyone I’d trust more with this mission. Permission granted.”

Poe lifted his fist into the air in quiet celebration.

“You won’t regret this, General.”

She humored him with a smirk.

“You have 18 hours to get this done. We won’t have enough fuel to jump to lightspeed after then.”

“We can do it,” Poe promised. He would not fail her.

“Wait,” Finn cut in. “Do we have anymore of those detonators we used on Starkiller Base?”

“We do!” Rose said. “They’re in the storage area of the ship, I brought them into the ship yesterday. Why?”

“We can set them along the inside of the ship as we go towards the breaker. If something goes wrong we can set them off and if we fail at least we’ll cause some damage. We’re rebels, aren’t we?”

Poe’s face split into a grin reminiscent of the one he had given to Finn on the day they met. 

“The First Order had no idea what they lost when you defected.” Finn’s face lit up at the General’s words. “Get the detonators and go, we’re running low on time. And take Threepio with you - he hasn’t shut up all morning.”

The three of them rushed to comply, Poe grabbing ahold of C-3PO and dragging him along despite his many complaints. None of them noticed the way the General’s worried eyes lingered on their forms. The last words her father had said to her had been a mission briefing, she could only hope it would not be the same for Poe.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


The storage facility they landed by was almost deserted, Rose noted as they stepped out of their ship, she eyed the corporate logo that was plastered on the side of the building in distaste. Near the building’s entrance stood one droid - one of C-3PO’s operatives. Vaguely, in the distance Rose was sure she could make out a silhouette of another, but it made no move to approach them.

Together, they all moved towards the building. The security droid immediately began speaking to C-3PO, the binary flying from it’s mouth too quickly for any human to follow. Once the droid had finished, it spun around and began walking towards the entrance on the side of the building. C-3PO turned to them.

“He says we have twelve hours at which point a new security droid will commence their patrol of the perimeter,” C-3PO explained as they trailed after the security droid.

“That’s more than enough time. We’ll just have to see how far away Maz is,” Poe said, as they reached the entrance.

Inside the facility was largely grey with bright unflatteringly white lights shining down on the vast paraphernalia below. There was a variety of ships scattered across the floor - TIE fights, X-wings, gunships, patrol transports, and freighters reached as far as the eye could see. Beside her, Poe gazed around in wonder, a smile lifting to his lips at the selection available - BB-8 beeping happily beside him.

Finn was looking around in awe at the sight - completely befuddled by the vast amount of ships paired with the lax security.

“They just leave all of their stuff out like this? With one droid to guard it all?” he asked. 

“There are cameras,” Poe pointed at the corners in the room and at ceiling plates that were darker than the rest, “and motions sensors. Passwords for the entrance and security droids around the perimeter, but if you get past that . . .”

“It’s free to take,” Finn finished.

“Exactly.” Poe grinned back at Finn before moving forward to inspect one of the ships, C-3PO and BB-8 following along.

Finn went to join them only to stop at the sight of the corporation’s name branded on the wall.

“Iron Legacy,” he read the words with a furrowed brow before turning to Rose, “Isn’t Iron Legacy part of the Mining Corps?”

“That’s why there’s no security,” she answered instead, seeing the implications flash across Finn’s face. “The only people who can afford to keep their stuff here, or even visit this planet our those who are already connected to the First Order.”

She had felt as if there was bile in her throat the entire time they had been here because of this. It was impossible for her to see the words Iron Legacy without remembering what they had done to her planet. How they had stripped the planet of its ore to finance the First Order’s military. They had forced those who lived there to work for under the minimum wage payment and forced them to take on shifts that lasted three-quarters of the day, while the First Order and their allies lined their pockets with money only to store their things away never to be used again or to waste it in casino’s like the one on Canto Bight. 

More than anything Rose wanted to tear the entire warehouse up and the entire casino with it.

Finn’s face had grown more solemn at her earlier words - no doubt as a stormtrooper he had either heard or witnessed the cruelty the First Order had to offer and how it treated those who had little to nothing to offer. Slowly, the two of them began to drift back to where Poe was now climbing along one of the starships, BB-8 rolling over the roof of one, as C-3PO stood anxiously below.

“We’ll make them pay for this,” Finn told her, as they approached, resolution clear in his voice as if he somehow knew how much pain this company had brought to her family. “When the First Order crumbles, all of this will follow.”

Rose glanced up at him, there was no fear on his face only a look of determination. She could only think of Paige’s words then - he really was a hero and by the end of this maybe Rose would be too. 

On top of the ship, Poe grinned down at the both of them. Across his cheek was a smear of soot, although Rose couldn’t tell where it had came from. The ship was a light freighter, an Allanar N3, Rose had seen enough of them to know by sight. It was used in equal measure by those transporting ore and smugglers. 

“Allanar N3 light freighter,” Poe told them as they approached, his excitement palpable as he dropped down to the floor - BB-8 following behind. “She’s got three engines, all upgraded, and laser cannons. BB-8 spotted a stealth ship near the back, we’re going to steal their cloaking device and install it in our ship. Any luck and we’ll be out of here before the sun goes down.”

“Have we heard from Maz yet?” Finn asked.

“Threepio’s setting up the comlink inside, now.”

Poe motioned with his head and began walking up the ramp that led into the ship; Finn, BB-8, and Rose followed. The inside of the ship was roomy, metallic surfaces gleamed at her as she passed, wires peaking out from the inner side of the corridor where the control panels were lined. 

“Master Dameron,” C-3PO greeted Poe.

“I’ve told you Threepio, none of that master nonsense. Just call me Poe.”

“My programming -”

“I know what your programming says,” Poe let out a sigh of exasperation. “Just tell me what we’ve got.”

“I have successfully connected our comlink and holoprojector to the ship and it is prepared to transmit whenever you desire.”

Rose moved forward to watch as Poe typed in Maz’s com code. Maz Kanata’s holographic form sprouted in front of them, an annoyed pinch to her brow and an enraged alien language flowing from her lips. 

“Poe,” Maz greeted before turning away and yelling once more.

“Maz, run into some trouble?” Poe asked.

“I’m sorry, Poe, but I’m not going to be able to make it in time. We ran into First Order ships and now the hyperdrive is out. It will take more time than you have to spare to fix.”

“Well,” Finn moved to stand in front of the holograph, “is there someone else? If we can’t get on that ship our fleet could be destroyed.”

“Finn,” Maz’s eyes settled on his form, “I am truly sorry but this is no one else. Mastering this form of code breaking takes years.”

“Oh dear,” C-3PO wailed. “We must inform the Princess.”

Rose felt her stomach sinking. They couldn’t give up, not now. Not when everyone was counting on them - not when Paige was passed out on that ship. 

“What if-” Rose moved forward, “What if I did it?.”

Maz’s eyes swiveled to where she stood.

“And who might you be?”

“I’m -” The word no one rose to her tongue, “I’m Rose.”

“And what do you know of codebreaking?”

“Not much, but I know a bit about slicing. But - but we can’t just give up. Not now. Maybe you could teach me, we have twelve hours. Is that enough?”

Maz fixed her gaze on Rose and stared at her for a long silent moment, before she smirked.

“Twelve hours? To learn a decade of work? Of course we can do it. I’ll need you, Finn, and the droids.”

Poe released a relieved smile.

“All right then. I’ll contact the General and let her know the change of plans.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Leia could only sigh as she ended her communication with Poe. As she had feared, things had already begun to make a change for the worse. The percentage of their plan succeeding now was becoming infinitesimal, but if there was anyone who could do it Leia was certain it would be them. For now, she could only hope.

“General.”

Admiral Amilyn Holdo had appeared out of nowhere, 

“Admiral.”

“We’ve connected to Lando Calrissian. He’s asking to speak with you.”

A wry smile tugged at her lips, hope indeed.

“Lead the way then, Admiral.”

Together they made their way through the corridors, stopping once they reached a secluded room. Admiral Amilyn Holdo opened the door for her, before disappearing once more. 

“Princess Leia Organa,” Lando was smilling at her. “I was beginning to wonder when I’d hear from you.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you too, Lando.”

“I’ve heard that you found a map leading to your brother and now you’re calling me. Are we getting the old gang back together?”

“It appears as if history has been doomed to repeat itself. Only this time instead of the Empire we’re standing against the First Order and Supreme Leader Snoke.”

“Snoke?” Lando snorted. 

“I thought I had misheard at first as well.”

Leia tried to smile, but it was difficult to when Snoke had stolen so much from her.

“And Han? Where’s he in all of this? Last I heard the idiot was hauling rathtars.”

Leia struggled to keep her face neutral. It seemed that nothing changed with age. Once again she was repressing her feelings, the loss and grief that ate at her soul. Her son was gone, seduced to the dark side by Snoke. And Han - Han had been killed, by their own son nonetheless as he tried to bring him back to her. And with Luke gone there was no one she felt comfortable talking to. 

There was no one that she was allowed to break around. Everyone was looking at her for instructions, if she broke, the rebellion could splinter. Leia would tear herself apart on the inside before she let that happen. 

Still she could recognize the irony. Only hours earlier she had told Poe how she had been at fault retaining her emotions the way she had after she had lost her planet and warned him not to follow in her footsteps. Yet here she stood, going down the same path she had when she was nineteen. Had anything really changed?

“Han.” His name felt delicate in her mouth, as if she could somehow break it if she wasn’t careful. Her throat seemed to get tighter suddenly and for a moment she had to cover her mouth, afraid that if she didn’t a sob would spill from it. “Han is dead.”

A shuddered breath heaved across her as she spoke the words. She had not said them often - she hadn’t been given the opportunity too. Tears had begun to well in her eyes for the first time since Han had died, she blinked them back her face falling from its neutral expression. 

Lando had gone still on the screen, denial clear in his stance.

“Han . . . no. No, Han can’t be -” He could not bring himself to say the word, grief clear on his features. “How?”

“Ben . . .” Leia was unsure if she could bring herself to say the words. “Ben killed him.”

The words felt like a punch to the gut. Ben had killed Han. Her son . . . but she had felt the conflict in him on the bridge. She could still feel the way he denied the call to the light, but it had been Snoke. She had been sure it was still Snoke responsible for the way Ben was acting. She had felt his presence entwined with Ben’s, deeper than it had been before. Snoke was still influencing him, controlling him. 

That was the reason he had killed Han. It had to be. 

“Your son,” Lando began, but seemed unable to finish.

“It was Snoke.” 

Her voice was firm. Lando looked on at her in what felt like pity, tears still fresh in his eyes.

“Leia . . . maybe it’s time to let go.”

“No. Luke returned our father to the light after decades on the dark side. I will save my son. Han died trying to return him. I won’t let that be in vain, Lando.”

The two shared a long silence, before Lando nodded.

“Then tell me what you need me to do.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Rose felt as if her brain was sobbing. After twelve intensive hours Maz had declared her ready - not that they had had a choice otherwise. Maz had been drilling her all night, interrogating Finn for all the information he had stored up in his brain about the First Order, before she would turn to the droids demanding a statistic or an example or some new problem for Rose to solve.

It had been excruciating, but Rose was ready. 

They were going to save the resistance’s fleet - the three of them and the two droids. They would deactivate the tracker and escape before the First Order even noticed. Rose would be able to return to their ship and see Paige - she could be a hero like Paige was now. She was no longer going to be seen as someone who blended into the background. She was going to step up to the First Order and win.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Finn’s fingers tapped incessantly against the table in front of him, as they had been doing ever since they had left Cantonica. He had fallen asleep at one point during Rose’s twelve hour lesson. He felt guilty at the thought that he had left the rest of them to do the heavy lifting, but both Rose and Poe had offered him sympathetic looks - telling him that he needed his rest now if he wanted to help later.

When he had woken, Finn had jolted up. For a moment it had felt as if he was FN-2187 again, terror had flooded his veins at the unfamiliar surroundings until he noticed Poe’s jacket, which he had been using as a blanket. The feel of the leather and the rough patchwork across the back had brought his heart rate back down. He hadn’t wanted to admit it but there had been multiple times since he had woken where someone said something or he saw half a figure and for a moment it would feel as if he was back in the First Order. The air would leave his lungs as panic began to sit in, but Poe’s jacket always seemed to bring him back down. 

On the ride over to Cantonica, Poe had slipped him some medication for his back and although Finn had initially tried to wave the medicine off, he was glad he hadn’t. Within hours his back had begun to ache, the deep scar Kylo Ren’s lightsaber made throbbed angrily into his spine - impossible to ignore.

And now it was time to return to the First Order. He wasn’t even returning to the ship he had left, but the head one which contained Supreme Leader Snoke. His bravery cowered at the thought, the very thought of infiltrating that ship was brazen beyond belief. Yet here he stood, ready to fake his bravery into reality and to once again stand up against the people who had stolen his life out from under him. They had taken everything from him and yet Finn was willing to stand one man against an army.

He had to be incredible stupid.

Or brave, a voice that sounded similar to Poe’s whispered in his mind.

I can do this, he thought. I can do this. I can do this.

“What can you do?” Poe asked, plopping down beside Finn. 

The smile he seemed to reserve just for Finn already spread across his lips. Despite having been up all night inspecting the ship and installing upgrades, Poe looked fresh and ready for anything. Finn jolted, realizing that he had been talking out loud.

“The plan. Infiltrating the First Order. Not getting caught.”

Poe’s face grew serious at that.

“Finn,” he waited until Finn met his eyes, “do you trust me?”

He had only known Poe for a few days, but Finn felt as if it had been longer. Poe was the one who had helped free him from the First Order, he was the who gave Finn a name, the first person to treat him as if he was a person and not a machine. It was Poe who helped convince General Organa to send him off to Starkiller Base so that he could save Rey and it was Poe who had visited him everyday in the medical bay when he had been out in a coma.

“With my life.”

“I will get you off of that ship. If anything goes wrong, just trust me when I say I will do anything to ensure that you’re safe.” Poe grabbed ahold of Finn’s hand. “I promise you.”

Finn squeezed onto Poe’s hand, not realizing how much he had longed for contact with another person until Poe had given it to him. 

“We’re going to do this,” Finn repeated the words he had said to Poe on the first day they met.

“Yeah?”

For a moment, they remained frozen like that. Finn’s skin buzzing from the feel of Poe’s hands against his. Finn wanted to memorize every detail that was happening around him and tuck it away deep inside his memory for when he’d need it. The way Poe was grinning at him, soft and bright. The way his hand fit perfectly in Finn’s. Finn’s heart was hammering in his chest, so loud he could feel it between his ears.

But the moment could not last forever.

“Finn! Poe!” Rose’s voice shattered through the air. “The Supremacy is in sight. It’s time.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


“BB-8 or I will let you know when we’ve finished,” Poe’s voice filtered in through their comlink.

“Then may the force be with you, Commander Dameron.”

Leia had a bad feeling about the entire mission, her nerves had been on edge ever since Poe had first told her Maz wouldn’t be able to make it. There was nothing she could do now, she had to manage the rest of the ship and pray that whatever reinforcement she had called for would make it in time if Poe, Finn, and Rose failed.

On the console in front of her, she tracked the progress of her ship. Crait was within their reach now, within another hour and they’d be past it. Still fuel dwindled before her eyes with every minute that passed, soon it wouldn’t matter if Poe’s mission was successful. 

“Admiral Holdo,” Leia called out.

Amilyn’s purple hair bounced towards her, despite working nonstop all night she still managed to look pristine. 

“What can I do for you, General?”

“Begin preparation of the escape pods. Anything you think we might need. Hold off on redistributing the fuel for now.”

“Of course,” she said, before disappearing without another word.

Leia closed her eyes and felt around the force. In the distance, she could feel the ship Poe was aboard nearing the First Order’s Supremacy, it waded through a path of muddy darkness that clung to anything that passed. Further off she could feel Ben. There was a spark inside him still, it was light that if given the opportunity would flourish.

Opening her eyes, Leia turned away. She could hope for her son, but she was a General first now and if she ever wanted to defeat the First Order, she’d need the Resistance to be prepared for a fight.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Rose’s hands shook as Poe prepared to drop them out of lightspeed. This was their one opportunity to get things right, if they failed now there wouldn’t be a second chance. Rose ran all of her lessons with Maz through her head. Beside her was a keypad, ready and waiting for her to slice through the First Order’s defenses.

“Dropping out of light speed in three . . . two . . . one.”

The First Order’s ship materialized in front of them, somehow managing to appear even more threatening than it had when she was back on the Resistance ship. The first step was cloaking, check. Poe had already installed a cloaking device when she learning with Maz. 

“It’s simple all we have to do is slice a slit in their shield and sneak through,” Rose whispered the words as she began furiously typing out coding. “Easy.”

Behind her Finn stood tense and transfixed on the ship ahead. Rose’s nerves felt as if they were on fire as she typed, worry gnawing at the thought of making a mistake and accidently killing them all. But her hands had stilled as they fell out of lightspeed and they hadn’t failed her yet as she clicked a button on the head of the ship, before pushing a key into the keypad.

All five of them waited with bated breath. For a moment, Rose was certain she had done something wrong, that at any second the ship was going to fire at them and they’d all be dead instantaneously. Beside her, breath unsteady Poe steered them through where the shields should have been. 

“I think -” Poe began, “I think we did it.”

“We did it,” Rose whispered, stunned. 

“We’re really in,” Finn breathed out. 

The three of them glanced towards each other before breaking out into relieved giggles, BB-8 beeping excitedly between them.

“Astounding,” C-3PO praised. “I will inform the princess of our progress at once.”

Poe maneuvered the ship the rest of the way in, following Finn’s directions on where the best and most secluded place to land was. 

“All right BB-8 and Threepio, you two stay here on lookout. Let us know if anyone finds the ship, if we need your help, we’ll contact you through the comlink.” Poe turned to Finn, who had removed his jacket. “Finn, ready to lead the way?”

Finn nodded, the giddiness from before replaced with nerves.

“Let’s do this.”

Together they moved towards the laundry facility, stopping and pausing in the hallways to avoid being seen until they reached a doorway which Finn pushed through. Inside, clothes were being hauled around by machines. In front of them, outfits were being steam pressed. Finn moved forward and grabbed a hold of one in his size, Rose and Poe following suit before changing into their new clothes.

Still, Finn felt as if there was something wrong. The air felt heavy and dark, worse than it had usually been when he was a stormtrooper. Perhaps it was just his memory, making things seem worse than it actually was, but Finn couldn’t shake the feeling - it was as if something poisonous was wrapping around his throat and he wouldn’t know how to fix it until it was too late.

“You okay, Buddy?” Poe clapped Finn on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I just - I have a bad feeling about this.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Rey wanted to celebrate when Chewie finally pulled the ship out from lightspeed. Somehow the journey back was more excruciating than the journey from the resistance. At least she would be able to see Finn again soon, she could only hope that he had woken in the time she had been gone. Leia would be pleased to see her as well, especially once she heard the news that her brother was planning on returning.

Still, the first thing Rey noticed when their surroundings appeared around them was that they were in the middle of nowhere - the outer rim of the galaxy to be exact. It was no wonder it had taken them so long to travel from Ahch-To. The next thing she noticed was the Resistance cruiser and the First Order destroyer trailing behind like a predator waiting for its prey.

Rey felt something grab at her heart and tug. Darkness twisted in the air around her. The force was raw here, it felt wild as it rammed against Rey begging her to invite it in. Beyond that she could feel something, a presence, the force gleamed brightly about it, but darkness wrapped itself around the roots dragging it down.

“Finn,” Rey whispered as she saw him.

He was dressed in First Order garb, a resistance pilot with a worried expression that Rey vaguely recognized beside him, a dark haired girl flanking his other side.

There was no doubt in Rey’s mind that the person she had seen was Finn and he was on that First Order ship. Whatever it was he had came to do was not going to end well. She could feel the darkness beating against him and unlike her, he had not yet received training on how to block it. He was in trouble, Rey knew that to be true.

Finn had came and rescued her when she had been kidnapped by Kylo Ren. There wasn’t a thing in the world that would stop Rey from helping him now. 

“Chewie,” Rey spoke. “We need to reroute the course to the First Order’s ship.”

When Chewie expressed his confusion Rey explained as quickly as she could, checking that the escape pod had enough fuel for her to reach the ship without problem, assuming she wasn’t blasted upon entering into their shields. It was minutes before she was ready to go, lightsaber and blaster at her side as she began to climb into the cramped escape pod.

“As soon as you release me, get out of range as quick as you can. Let Luke know where I’m going and Leia too. I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

Chewie let out a low roar, a mix of protest and acceptance.

“I know,” she told him, “but Finn needs me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this is the shortest chapter even though it took the longest to write. It's mainly just filler and setting up for the big things that are happening in the last two acts, which I am so excited to finally be writing!!
> 
> Sorry if this part is a little boring? I wanted to do more with Rose to show how intelligent she is and how vital she is to this mission, but I know nothing of hacking and codebreaking and when I went back and looked at the movie online, they didn't give many details as to what DJ was even doing. But I think it turned out alright, just not as long as I had hoped.
> 
> Anyways, leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it!
> 
> Next update will probably be by Friday (I expect that chapter will be two to three times as long as this one and will mainly be told from Rey and Finn's pov).


	4. Act IV

Finn’s heart was beating erratically as he strode through the corridors on the Supremacy much as it had on the day he had escaped the Finalizer. Poe was with him as he had been on that day, only now he was clothed in a uniform that belonged to the First Order. His hand had periodically brushed against Finn’s since they had changed, it was a reminder of their talk on the ship - that Poe was here with him and that they would make it off of this ship. 

Rose flanked his other side, her face was impassive as she slid a detonator from her sleeve and attached it to an electrical panel as they passed without breaking stride. They had each taken two and had been distributing them across the destroyer as they walked. Finn had left one near the elevator after they had stepped out and had another still up his sleeve.

Finn felt his courage build with every step he took closer to the power breaker. The last time he had been on a First Order ship he had felt lost and afraid. There had been no guarantee that he would live to make it off the ship and after he left there was no place for him to go - he had only known that he needed to run as far away as he could if he wanted to live. 

But here he was. 

He hadn’t been able to kill for them, but he also couldn’t stand by as they killed others. At first it had been about saving Rey, but he couldn’t stop there. He knew what the First Order did, he had seen the horrible acts first hand. He couldn’t run and hide - not when he could help. So, that’s what he would do. 

He had been lost before but now it felt as if he was found. He had a place in the world, a place that he had chosen, a place where he could help people. The First Order couldn’t take that from him, even if their mission failed today. Finn knew who he was and he knew what was right and he would fight for what he believed - nothing could change that. 

He was a rebel now.

Poe’s hand brushed against Finn’s again, his fingers entwined with Finn’s before disappearing as the pad of his thumb ran along the base of Finn’s palm. Finn felt his nerves recede then, once and for all as they turned a corner. Finn didn’t have to fake being brave now. He was already brave. Poe had told him so before, as had Rose. Finn hadn’t believed it then, but he did now. 

He was still afraid of course, how could he not be - he was walking into his own nightmares after all. But the mission and the resistance was more important than that. Perhaps bravery was simply being afraid to do something but having the will to do what was needed despite that fear. He had been brave before, when he escaped the First Order and when he had went to Starkiller Base to save Rey.

Rey, who even in her absence, seemed to be with Finn. For a moment, he felt as if he was seeing her, an image of her sitting beside Chewbacca in the millenium falcon filtered through his mind. Worry was scrawled across her face as she stared out in front of her. Her clothes were darker than before, but similarly styled to the ones she had when they met. Her hair was still styled in three buns going down the back of her head. 

“Finn,” he thought he could hear her voice say.

But as soon as the image appeared it was gone. 

Finn shook the vision off, he didn’t have time to worry about it now. The room that led to the power breaker was in sight now, Finn glanced around before picking up his speed. Together the three of them hurried to the door.

“So, this is it,” Finn said. “The tracker’s right behind this door.”

Rose moved forward then, she pressed a button on the side of the wall to reveal the wires that controlled the door’s security system. Finn chanced another glance around, Poe doing the same, but there was no one else in the corridors besides them. Rose was muttering to herself as she inspected the wires, only to stop at the sight of an insulator. 

Instinctively, she brought her hand up to her necklace. Hastily, she pulled it off, ignoring the odd looks she received from Finn and Poe at the action. Holding her breath, she pressed the half moon necklace to the insulator - an electric current struck through it before another panel opened. Grinning, she turned to the others.

“Haysian smelt,” she explained. “Best conductor in the galaxy.”

Without another word she turned back to the panel, combing through the wires. She rifled about, carefully sorting which wires she needed from those she didn’t, her fingers shaking the entire time. Still, it was only as she reached the last two wires that she froze. She had already pulled out two wires and only needed to do one more before the doors would open if she remembered correctly, but she couldn’t seem to move suddenly unsure. 

Poe appeared next to her then, examining the work she had done already before he eyed the blue wire she was holding. 

“You’re right.” His voice was confident as he met her eyes. “It’s the blue one.”

“Hurry,” Finn urged from his post, as he caught sight of two stormtroopers headed their way. “We’re about to have company.”

Rose pulled the wire and the door rushed open. Together they all rushed in, shoving the door closed right before the two stormtroopers passed. A sigh of relief traveled through the room, before Finn turned to Rose.

“Let’s do this.”

The two of them moved towards where the power breaker was shining brightly, lighting up the room. Poe hovered behind, bringing his comlink to his mouth.

“Let the general know we’ve reached the breaker. The tracker will be down any minute.”

Silence met his message. He waited and counted to five, before trying again.

“BB-8 can you hear me?” 

Silence.

“Threepio?”

No one responded.

Panic began to rise in his throat, but he pushed it down. It was possible they had simply turned the comlink off or perhaps it had malfunctioned, it wouldn’t be the first time. Poe changed the com code to that of the General’s and tried again.

“General?”

“Give me good news, Commander.”

A relieved smile pushed onto his face.

“We’ve reached the breaker room. The tracker will be off any minute. But we’ve lost contact with BB-8 and C-3PO.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time Threepio left his comlink off when it was needed. Let me know when the tracker’s shut off.”

“Will do.”

Poe flicked back to BB-8’s com code.

“BB-8, can you -”

He didn’t have the opportunity to finish his sentence as frantic beeping filtered into the room. The message was spotty with loud silences and static filling the space inbetween words leaving Poe with only a rough idea of what BB-8 was saying, but he knew it wasn’t good.

“They know were here!”

Finn and Rose shot him equal looks of horror before turning back to the breaker. Rose’s hands were moving frantically across the control as she gave instructions to Finn on what he could do to hurry up the process. Finn moved with a controlled ease, pulling open control panels and doing what Rose told him - he knew exactly what was at stake here if they failed.

If they were found in the control room then everything they had done would be for nothing. If they were going to get caught, it needed to be after they disabled the tracker, before the First Order could restore it. Rose pulled one last cord and the breaker shut off, the light disappearing.

“Let’s go,” Rose said.

But as soon as the words came out of her mouth the doors flew open. Dozens of stormtroopers filtered through both sides of the room, blasters aimed at the three of them. Finn stepped back instinctively, only for his back to hit the breaker. An idea rushed to his head then.

Quickly, before they could see, Finn pushed his leftover detonator out from his sleeve and attached it to the underside of the console. Poe met Finn’s eyes then, a twitch of his lips giving way to the fact that he had seen what Finn had done. Rose looked his way then and Finn subtly tapped his finger twice against. A relieved breath passed through her body and she looked down to keep her face impassive as the three of them were pushed towards the center of the room. 

The door they had entered through opened then and out walked a stormtrooper, encased in a suit of reflective chrome. A black cape billowed out behind her. Finn would have recognized Captain Phasma anywhere, his heart skipped a beat at the realization that she had survived their last meeting. 

“FN-2187, so good to have you back.”

Finn could only glare at his old assigned name. Despite it all, he lifted his chin up and stared at Phasma unflinching.

“My name is Finn.”

If anything, Phasma seemed to harden at Finn’s blatant disobedience. She turned to the stormtroopers.

“Disarm and bind them. We’ll escort them to the assembly room.” She turned to another stormtrooper. “Inform Ren of his prisoners.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Leia released her grip on her comlink. They had lost, she had sacrificed three more lives for nothing. There was little doubt in her mind that whatever happened now to Poe, Finn, and Rose would only occur at her son’s orders.

Her mind turned against her then, as she traitorously began to wonder just how much she could allow her son to take from her before she would be forced to let go. Her family was all gone now - Han was dead and Luke was too far away, still blaming himself for everything that had happened. She would be lying if she said she didn’t think of Poe as a son. 

She had been mentoring him since he arrived, nudging him in the right direction when he became too reckless or cocky. She had watched him grow and molded him to step into her shoes if the moment ever arrived. He had that spark in him to do what was right and the conviction to make his vision of a peaceful galaxy true. He lived by the words that Leia told him that she had been told by her own father. 

He would not die today. Leia had to believe it. He had been in trickier situations and had lived, he would live through this. Besides, they had brought the detonators as a backup, surely they would think of something. Poe would come back, Finn and Rose with him.

“Begin fueling the escape pods,” she ordered the Admirals around her. “And prepare for evacuation.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


The stormtroopers had already gathered by the time Finn, Poe and Rose were lead into the assembly room. They were lined up, thousands filling the room, all looking the exact same in the plain white armor and black underclothes. Finn felt nauseous as he looked at them. They were treated like cogs in a machine, not people. If only he could talk to them and make them understand why he left. If only he could show them the truth, if he could reveal what the First Order was truly doing to the galaxy, they would turn.

He knew they would. 

Phasma lead the way. Stormtroopers encased them on either side as they were led to the front of the room where General Hux and Kylo Ren stood. He was without his mask again and a scar that had not been there before cut across his face. Finn stared at him, a challenge clear in his eyes. If he was going to die, despite the fact that Poe had assured him they wouldn’t, Finn would die standing up for what he believed in, not bowing down to what he didn’t.

The stormtroopers pushed him onto his knees as they reached the front, Rose and Poe falling beside him. Finn refused to bow his head, keeping his eyes trained on General Hux and Kylo Ren as Phasma moved to stand beside them. 

“We found them with the power breaker. They turned off the tracker, but we have restored it and the rebel’s ship is still in sight.”

Finn felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He had still been hoping that the resistance ship had fled in the few minutes that the tracker had been off. Now he would have to hope that they could activate the detonators before the General released the escape pods for Crait and somehow inform her that the tracker was off. 

Finn’s hope was beginning to dwindle.

Kylo Ren stepped forward then, for a long moment he stared down at them. His eyes examined each of them separately as his face remained carefully blank. 

“FN-2187,” he said, his voice quiet. “The traitor.”

“Finn. My name is Finn.” And then, because he had nothing else to lose, he added, “The rebel.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


“Report to your evacuation center,” a voice ordered throughout the ship. “We are now evacuating.”

Leia watched as the first of the escape pods began to take off from the ship and head out into space. Their chances of survival were dwindling, but Leia had not yet given up hope. They already had allies coming their way, and they would have more once they reached Crait and could transmit a message without a spotty signal. 

Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo came to stand beside her.

“Time to board your transport,” Leia said.

An odd look flashed across Amilyn’s face.

“The transports are to escape.” Leia turned to look at her old friend’s face, not willing to connect the dots quite yet. “Someone needs to stay behind and pilot the cruiser.”

Amilyn smiled at Leia, kind even when she was facing her own death, but Leia was not ready to accept that yet. Amilyn had been by her side since the days of the Empire. They had met on Alderaan and had fought the boredom of senatorial sessions and routine pathfinding training long before they allied together to fight against the Empire. The two of them had help restore the New Republic, Leia did not want to lose her now. It seemed as if everyone from her old life was slipping through her fingers and she was helpless to stop it.

“Too many losses.” Leia shook her head as she stepped closer to Amilyn, her voice lowering. “I can’t take anymore.”

“Sure you can,” Amilyn said, a challenge in her voice. Leia wanted to protest. “You taught me how.”

Leia’s heart grew heavier in that moment as she realized that she was once more going to have to let go. She had been fond of Amilyn since she was a teenager and she loved her dearly in her heart. Despite the fact that the resistance had already lost so many, she had not thought she would lose Amilyn - the odd girl with the brightly colored hair who had been with her from the beginning.

Still, Leia would be strong. She always had been.

“May the Force-” the two of them began only to stop, trading smiles and quiet laughter at the blunder, as if they were once again girls.

“Maybe I’ve said it enough.” Leia’s voice was choked up as she restrained the tears that pushed at her eyes.

Amilyn met her eyes and smiled.

“May the Force be with you.”

Leia reached for Amilyn and Amilyn held onto her hand with the both of hers. Together they stood, a moment of quiet peace and the midst of hurricane of activity. Leia squeezed onto Amilyn’s hands, as if that could somehow make her stay, but Leia knew well enough that that was not how the world worked. 

It was with regret that Leia finally let go, stepping back and boarding her escape pod. But even as her ship left, she kept her eyes on Amilyn’s serene form, staring until she was nothing more than a dot in space.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Rey piloted her escape pod to where she knew Finn’s ship would be. In her mind she could see it clear as day and around her the Force showed her the path she needed to follow. It was a miracle that she hadn’t been instantly blasted into a billion pieces once she entered into the First Order’s scanners, but they seemed to be unable to see her pod.

With every second that passed, Rey’s nerves seemed to grow stronger. She tried her best to remember her lessons with Luke, about pushing the negative emotions aside so she could focus on what truly mattered. Her escape pod crashed through the openings in the First Orders destroyer before it skidded to a jolting halt. The sound of blaster fire erupted from outside the escape pod and Rey rushed to undo her acceleration belt. She pulled the lightsaber from her belt, before opening the pod and jumping out. 

The room was in absolute chaos around her. Not far from her own ship stood a light freighter that Finn must have arrived in. Stormtroopers were scattered around the room, a few looked on at her frozen at the sight of a new foe. In one corner of the room BB-8, was wildly fighting off two stormtroopers - electrically shocking those who got close, while another panel was opened to reveal a sharp screwdriver that was thrashing out and snipping anyone in the vicinity. 

In another corner stood C-3PO, arms raised in surrender to the two stormtroopers that surrounded him. Their blasters were lax in their hands as they stared in what appeared to be utter confusion at the absurd anxious words spilling from C-3PO’s mouth.

Rey powered her lightsaber and the stormtroopers that weren’t already busy rushed to begin shooting their blasters. She blocked each and every blast that came her way, lightsaber gliding effortlessly around her as the force showed her where she needed to move. A stormtrooper fired at her from behind, and she twisted to deflect the blast, which ricocheted off her lightsaber before slamming into the trooper, all while Rey had already twisted back around and deflected two more. 

In front of her BB-8 had finally managed to successfully taser the two stormtroopers that had surrounded them before and had begun to wildly attack any stormtrooper in sight. It was only moments before every stormtrooper was down, either hit by their own deflected blasts or taken out by BB-8. 

“Oh dear,” C-3PO said. “I had thought we were doomed.”

BB-8 chirped. But Rey didn’t have time for pleasantries, she turned to both of them.

“Where’s Finn?”

BB-8 quickly explained that Finn had gone with Poe and Rose to disable a tracking device only to be caught by the First Order. BB-8 whirred and began to play the comlink that was still connected to Poe.

“FN-2187. The traitor.”

Rey felt her blood grow cold at the sound of Kylo Ren’s voice. The last time they had seen each other he had killed Han Solo and almost killed Finn - she needed to find Finn now.

“Finn. My name is Finn.” His voice was strong and clear as it filtered through the speakers and despite herself Rey couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at the sound of his voice. “The rebel.”

“Can you find them?” she asked BB-8.

BB-8 whirred, before turning to one of the panels in the wall and plugging into it.

“I must insist that you consider leaving, Miss. The chances of your survival if -”

“I’m not leaving,” Rey cut C-3PO off. “Not without my friend. I need you to watch the ship, it’ll be our only chance to get out of here alive.”

BB-8 beeped to let her know they knew the path to where Finn and Poe and Rose were being held.

“Watch the ship,” she said to C-3PO before turning and sprinting off beside BB-8.

C-3PO huffed to himself.

“How did I get into this mess?” he despaired.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


“Rebel.” Scorn laced Kylo Ren’s voice as he crouched down to see eye to eye with Finn. “And where has that gotten you? You’re back where you began. Nothing’s changed.”

It would have been easy for Finn to cower in that moment. He could feel Kylo Ren using the force to feel around his mind, an attempt to draw forth Finn’s worst memories and fears - an irony seeing as Kylo Ren himself was responsible for every horrible thing that had happened to Finn. But Finn was braver and stronger than anyone gave him credit and he was smarter as well.

He didn’t need a chance to speak to the stormtroopers alone to turn them against the First Order. Kylo Ren had just unwittingly given him a stage to say what he needed too. He had brought Finn up there to shame him, to create a spectacle and an example, but he wanted answers as well. He wanted to know why Finn would become a traitor, he wanted Finn to admit that it had been for nothing that he had lost. But Finn had won, he had made a difference, and he would let Kylo Ren and every single stormtrooper in that room know.

“Nothing? Starkiller Base is gone. You destroyed the New Republic but the Resistance lives. Luke Skywalker has been found. You are the one who has failed.”

Finn’s voice rang through the silence in the room. They would hear his words whether they wished to or not. Ren scowled at him, a sneer flashing over his face at Finn’s words.

“You wanted to be a hero, that’s why you deserted,” he accused.

“I wasn’t going to kill for you. That’s why I left. Those villagers on Jakku had done nothing and you rounded them up and ordered us to kill them. I could never do that.”

Ren stared at him, irritation clear across his face. 

“They were traitors! They aided the rebellion, therefore acting against the First Order. Their executions were earned.”

Finn was aghast. It was one thing to know of all the horrible things that the First Order had done, to know how many had died for nothing, but it seemed as if Kylo Ren truly believed that those innocent people had been working against him. He had convinced himself that he was the righteous one here, that he was the one who had been wronged.

“They were innocent.”

Ren’s arms shook in fury at Finn’s words, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

“They were _nothing_.” Ren’s voice was pure venom as he spat the words out. “After everything _I_ gave you - training, an education, a place in the First Order. You could have been a General and you gave all of it up for _nothing_.”

Ren stood then, sneering down at Finn’s form. Finn rose from where he kneeled, rage was flowing through his veins at the pure audacity of Ren’s words. Two stormtroopers moved to push him back down, but Finn refused maneuvering forward to stand directly in Kylo Ren’s space. Ren held his hand up to stop the troopers who attempted to drag Finn back.

“I was nothing to you. I didn’t even have a name, I was a number. I’ll never know who my family was because I was stolen as a child to be a part of your army. My first memories are of being told stories of how dangerous the Resistance was, of how the First Order was doing right by the universe and how I was going to do my part to make it better. I was put through test after test to prove that I would be useful to the First Order, afraid that if I messed up I’d be taken away and killed.” 

His eyes moved over to Phasma. 

“I was discouraged from helping others who were failing and told to leave them behind and let them die if they weren’t strong enough.” He looked back at Ren. “You stole everything from me. From every stormtrooper here.”

In front of him, General Hux began to shift uncomfortably.

“You were given everything. You have a family who loves you. You killed your own father and your mother is still willing to forgive you. You were given a choice. You were raised in the light and chose the dark, despite it all. And you forced that on the rest of us. The first time I was given a choice to do as I had been told - to kill for you - or to leave, I chose to leave. And ever since then I’ve been given more choices - to hide and cower in the dark as the First Order took control of the galaxy or to fight back in the light. I wanted to run, but I didn’t. I chose to fight. I’m choosing to fight for those who can’t.”

“I was nothing but a part of a machine when I was a stormtrooper. Since I’ve left I’ve been given a name, I’ve been treated as a person, and I’ve chosen to make a difference. And I’m not the first one. Bodhi Rook, an Imperial cargo pilot defected and helped bring an end to the Death Star and because of that the Galactic Empire eventually crumbled. And now Starkiller Base is gone because you underestimated what a stormtrooper who worked in sanitation could do, because I was nothing to you.”

“The galaxy knows you can be hurt now. They know you’re not as all-powerful as you seem. The Jedi are returning. General Organa will never allow the universe to bow to the dark side. None of us will - not the pilots, not the Jedi, not the defectors and traitors, not the maintenance workers. The First Order has already begun to crumble, it’s only a matter of time. You’ve already lost.”

Finn’s breathing was hard as he finished speaking. He had not before been given the opportunity to truly feel his rage towards the First Order, he had never had the luxury. 

Ren was seething at him, teeth bared in anger, hand gripped around the hilt of his lightsaber that he had fought Finn with not too long ago.

“The resistance is dying. I’ve already killed the Jedi and when your little friend and Skywalker return I will kill them as well. General Organa will die today, as will the rest of the rebels on your ship.”

“You’d kill your own mother? The only person in the galaxy who still cares for you.”

Ren flinched at Finn’s words. 

“This idealization of family should have been removed long ago.” Ren turned to Poe, his voice somehow growing in disdain. “And _you_. You see her as a mother figure. You shouldn’t. She’s incapable of caring for anything more than her resistance, something you seem to share - a shame seeing as it will die today.

“Everything you just said was wrong. Go ahead, kill the resistance today. Tighten your grip on the remaining star systems and watch them slip from your fingers. As long as the First Order stands, there will be rebels fighting against it.”

Ren’s annoyance only grew as the pilot quoted his mother. Finn watched as he turned to Rose, it was clear he was looking for a hole in their defense, searching for a way to humiliate and shame them. Rose scowled up at him.

“My mother must have been truly desperate to send you - a maintenance worker. You’re no one and yet somehow you seem to hate me the most,” his eyes flickered to Finn, “perhaps even more than the traitor.”

“You destroyed my planet,” Rose’s voice shook but her words were clear.

“The Hosnian system was full of traitors. They knew their punishment would be death.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Finn saw Poe wiggling his arm, until slowly but surely the button that would set the detonators off pushed to his front sleeve. 

“My planet is Hays Minor. You stole children to be stormtroopers. You destroyed the land to test weapons. Your mining company stripped the planet of its ore. You made my people slaves. They worked from dusk to dawn and still couldn’t afford to eat. People starved and died and if they didn’t work they were killed. You stole everything we had and then left, your pockets fat with what you had taken, while the survivors had to plead for the mercy of other planets for aid. None of which wanted to face the First Order’s wrath, so they left us to die.”

Ren merely appeared bored at her story, as if it meant nothing to him.

“And yet despite that, you’re still here. You’re still a nobody, even in the resistance where you thought you would belong. You’re not a hero, not like your sister - the one who took out the Dreadnought. She’ll die today for that, as will you.”

“You -” Rose began only to be unable to finish. 

Ren held in her place with the Force, keeping the words from spilling from her mouth. He moved to stand in front of Finn. Finn met Ren’s gaze without hesitance.

“Do you see now that you would have never won? The Resistance is built on lies. You wish to repeat history, so you lie and you vilify me for things I’ve never done.”

“Maybe you didn’t steal children to make them stormtroopers. Maybe you didn’t destroy Rose’s planet yourself. But your only successful because of those things. The only reason you have an army is because someone else stole children to fight for you and you teach them lies to keep their loyalty, changing the past to suit what you want. The only reason you have money is because you ally with corporations that enslave planets. You’re still responsible.”

“Enough,” Ren said. “You’re all traitors to the First Order and the punishment for that crime is death.” He looked to the stormtroopers that were guarding the three of them. “Prepare for execution.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Amilyn could only watch in abject horror as the escape pods were fired upon by the First Order. They should have been cloaked, too far away from the First Order’s scanners to see until it would be too late, but something must have gone wrong. Three of their ships had already been decimated and the numbers would be rising if she didn’t do anything to stop it.

It was too late for the ships to return, they were closer to Crait than they were to Amilyn. She would buy them time. She had stayed up here to die and let the resistance see another day, she would not let her own sacrifice be in vein. She would not let Leia down. 

It only took a moment before she knew what she had to do. The piloting controls gleamed in front of her and she moved to them with purpose. Their fuel reserves had been almost completely exhausted by the escape pods, but she had just enough left that she’d be able to trick the ship into hyperdrive for just a few seconds - that's all she needed anyways. 

Fingers steady she began to pilot the ship, turning it so that it was facing the First Order’s destroyer. Ever so carefully, she began to prepare the engines for hyperdrive.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Finn was pushed to his knees once more. Behind him, he could hear the sound of three laser axes turning on, the hum dangerously loud in the silence of the room. He glanced towards Poe, who was already looking at him, and tapping his finger in threes. Poe glanced down to where the detonator was slipped just beneath his sleeve.

 _Do you trust me?_

Finn could hear Poe’s voice now and ever so slightly he nodded. He would not die without first trying to live. 

“FN-2187,” Kylo Ren’s echoed through the room. “For desertion of the First Order, your punishment is death. And the two of you, for aiding the rebellion, you will receive the same punishment.”

Ren motioned with his hands and behind Finn the stormtroopers began to move. Finn felt his heart slamming against his ribcage, desperate to fight now as he waited for Poe’s signal. As one, the three stormtroopers who had lined themselves up with Finn, Rose, and Poe lifted their laser axes. The room was utterly still and silent and for a moment Finn was sure that time had frozen.

The sound of footsteps slamming into the ground burst through the silence, frantic beeping growing in volume. 

“FINN!”

The sound of Rey’s voice sent a shock through Finn’s entire system. Rey was here. Rey had come to rescue them. His friend had returned. As one the entire room seemed to swivel to see Rey, who was crashing through the room, bypassing every stormtrooper that attempted to stop her. She looked as she had appeared in Finn’s vision - darker clothes and worn expression, hair done in three buns. BB-8 was following behind her, zapping anyone who got too close. 

In the next minute, everything seemed to happen at once.

Rey’s relief at the sight of Finn alive, switched to a seething rage towards Kylo Ren. Her hand went to her blaster, the one Han Solo had given to her not long ago, and she raised and fired at where Kylo Ren stood. 

“Now!” Poe seemed to scream at the same moment, his hand slamming down on the detonator.

The destroyer rumbled around them, throwing its inhabitants around as shockwaves traveled across the floor. 

Finn rolled, maneuvering about until he was back on his feet, facing the stormtrooper who had been about to execute him. The stormtrooper lifted the laser axe and Finn stumbled back, still gaining his balance, and lifted his hands to block the falling axe. The laser missed his face by inches but had split his cuffs in half.

Beside him, Poe had grabbed onto a stormtrooper and kicked out, dragging the man to the ground and allowing him to stand in his place - somehow a blaster had found its way into his still cuffed hands. Rose had risen as well, as she used her cuffed hands to slam a blaster away from her face.

For a moment, utter chaos reigned.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Amilyn flipped the switch on the hyperdrive and watched as all the stars in the sky blurred into one.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Finn was thrown back and was greeted with silence. There were holes in the ship now, holes in the floor, and holes into space. Debris covered the floor, fire blazed around them and smoke began to rise in the room. Finn coughed, gritting his teeth as his back flared with pain, but he dragged himself up. Vaguely, he could see Poe rising beside him. Rose was dragging herself back up in front of him.

He could see Rey in the distance already standing blaster in hand with BB-8 beside her. And there on the floor in front of Finn, was the Skywalker lightsaber. It had been tossed from Rey in the blast and had landed near him, hastily he picked it up.

“Finn,” Poe was next to him now. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Finn felt breathless, heart still beating erratically from the explosion. “You?”

“Been better.” 

He was struggling with the cuffs still binding his hands. Automatically, Finn powered the lightsaber - blue light bathing over his form in a contrast to the burning red that filled the rest of the room. He motioned to Poe’s hands and Poe grinned, nodding. Finn slashed through the cuffs.

“Thanks.” Poe twisted his wrist to relieve the soreness before he bent down and grabbed a rogue blaster. “We need to get out of here.”

“No kidding,” Rose appeared, before lifting her cuffed hands to Finn. “Do mine?”

Finn obliged, cutting through the cuffs with ease before nodding to where Rey and BB-8 stood.

“Let’s go.”

But as they began to move stormtroopers began to emerge from the smoke and flames around them, firing their blasters at the three of them. Finn ducked out of the way of the fire before charging forward, lightsaber swinging. He deflected blasts with an ease he shouldn’t have possessed, somehow moving into just the right position as if he knew where the troopers would fire. 

Beside him Rose and Poe had spread out, taking defensive positions as they fired back at the stormtroopers. The three of them were slowly making their way to where Rey and BB-8 were fighting.

Finn slashed through another stormtrooper. Regret bit at his heart, he didn’t want to kill them. He wanted to hurt the ones responsible - Kylo Ren, Hux, Phasma, Snoke - but right now he didn’t have much of a choice when they were all trying to kill him. Finn spun around, blocking blaster fire in the knick of time, before he slammed forward, knocking the lightsaber though a trooper. 

He could see Rey firing at the troopers that neared her, only for her face to suddenly scrunch up as she glared at the weapon in her hand. Her blaster seized to be working and she didn’t have another.

“Rey!”

She looked at him, just as he powered off the lightsaber and threw it in her direction. Rey caught it with ease before twisting back around and meeting the blaster fire of another stormtrooper. 

“Traitor!”

Finn looked up to see Captain Phasma and a group of stormtroopers marching from out of the smoke. The troopers spread out and Poe and Rose descended upon them, as Finn met Phasma’s gaze. She stood tall, black cape billowing out behind her as she drew out a sharp baton that extended in her grasp. 

Finn bent down and scraped a Z6 riot baton, switching it on, before he charged forward. A stormtrooper attempted to intercept him as he strode forward and Finn slashed across him before slamming forward. He raised the electric baton in the air and it collided with Phasma’s. The two seperated and Finn rammed forward once more, the baton smashed into her suit of armor sending her stumbling back. Finn refused to waste the ground he gained and doubled forward, striking his baton forward to meet in the middle with Phasma’s once more.

“You were a bug in the system,” her dulcet mechanical voice hissed at him. “We should have left you to die on Artorias.”

Artorias. 

The implication shook across Finn’s core, but he refused to think about it now. 

“Let’s go, Chrome Dome,” he challenged before pulling away. 

He ducked her swing and stepped back as she swung wildly in an attempt to hit him, her arms slowing from the effort with each new strike until Finn slammed forward, his baton meeting with hers and pushing her back. Phasma fought back, but her movements were sluggish under the weight of her armor and from the exertion of her attempt to hit him before. 

Finn stole the upperhand, landing a barrage of hits onto Phasma and sending her scrambling backwards. He didn’t have to think to meet each swing she sent his way as she grew frustrated, he simply moved somehow knowing just where he needed to be. Finn swung down and Phasma met her baton with his, arms trembling from the effort. She swung a hand out blindly to hit him, but Finn stepped back and smashed his baton back into hers once more, before kicking at her kneecaps. Phasma stumbled and in her moment of weakness, Finn slammed his baton across her body, sending her flying back - the ground disappearing beneath her. 

Finn stepped forward cautiously, looking down at where she had landed ten feet below. There was a hole in her helmet now. A blue eye peered up at him in utter rage.

“You were always scum,” she seethed.

“Rebel scum.”

Finn watched as the ground began to quake beneath her, before falling. Her body fell with it, disappearing into the flames below.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Rey caught the lightsaber Finn had thrown at her with practiced ease, before she spun back around and fought off the nearest stormtrooper. BB-8 had disappeared into the fray, but she could still hear his wild frantic beeping. They needed to get out of here and quickly, but the stormtroopers kept appearing - they were endless compared to the four, well five with BB-8, of them fighting.

She deflected another stormtroopers blaster fire only to freeze. Off to the side, she could feel that horrible poisonous darkness that was blooming in the Force. Rey turned to meet it and watched as Kylo Ren emerged from the smoke. He had his lightsaber in hand, poised to fight, and he froze at the sight of her.

“You!” 

“Murderer!” she shouted.

A murder was the only thing Kylo Ren would ever be to her. He had killed his father. He had killed the Jedi who would not turn with him. He had slaughtered millions when he fired Starkiller Base at the Hosnian System. He had been about to murder Finn.

Rey knew Luke still wanted to save him, that he wanted to bring him back to the light for his sister, but Rey hated him with every fiber of her being. She channeled those emotions - the rage, the grief, the thirst for vengeance - and she attacked. 

Her lightsaber slashed forward and Kylo Ren just managed to lift his to block her. She seethed as she sent a barrage of attacks at his form, her lightsaber swung in an arc and caught his shoulder, slicing through skin and muscle before he managed to stumble back. 

Luke had warned her against using this form of fighting, but in the moment it was worth it, to be able to release the rage and fury that had been building in her all this time. She wanted him to feel the pain that she felt. She wanted him to know how it felt to lose the thing he cared about most in the world, and then still foolishly hope and believe that it would return to him. Their lightsabers met once more and Rey could feel it as he attempted to use the Force against her.

“Get out of my head,” she hissed.

“You could join me. There is much Skywalker hasn’t taught you about the Force. There is power that you could only begin to imagine.”

Rage filled Rey, as she slashed forward at him not bothering to respond, sending him back on the offense, until their blades met in the middle once more.

“Who else will accept you? The resistance only wants you for your power, without that you’re nothing to them. You could have something here. You would have a place in the world.”

He was wrong. Her parents had abandoned her, but not everyone had. Finn was still here for her. Finn had thrown himself back into the place he feared the most to save her, not because he wanted anything but because they were friends. Luke, Chewbacca, BB-8, they would all accept her, even if she wasn’t connected to the Force. She didn’t need the force to do the right thing, and she didn’t need the dark side to have a place in the world.

“I don’t want anything from you. You murderer.”

She grunted, as she threw her weight behind her next swing at him.

“Murderer! I -”

“You murdered your own father! You had a family and you threw it away.”

Confusion spread across his face as he stared at her. Then, ever so slowly, his expression cleared, as if he had somehow won.

“You still don’t know.”

Rey pulled away, before slamming her lightsaber back at his, but he met her this time, confidence growing.

“Luke Skywalker didn’t tell you. And you looked up to him so. Almost the same way you had looked at Han Solo, as if he would have wanted anything to do with you.”

He was taunting her now, his voice slow and low picking through her weakest defenses. Rey’s hands shook as she pushed forward, forcing him back.

“You’re so jealous of my family,” he smiled now, “Despite the fact that it’s the same family that threw you away. That abandoned you.”

Rey stopped, confusion seeping through her. 

“What?”

“Luke is your father.”

His lightsaber arched forward and Rey struggled to block it.

“No! You’re lying! Luke isn’t -”

But it was as if his words had opened a dam in her mind. 

She could see Luke’s face clearly now, it was younger in her memories. She was in her bed, listening to stories of the smuggler Han Solo, before Luke leaned down and kissed her forehead, turning off the lights and telling her to sleep tight. It was Luke who had dropped her off on Jakku, whispering reassurances that he’d be back, sorrow in his voice as she screamed after him to come back, begging and sobbing. She remembered a younger looking Leia teaching her how to sneak snacks from the kitchen, and giggling as Luke - her father - pretended not to notice. Luke who had shown her how to fly around in her first pod racer, memories of the two of them improving old ships together, Rey creating more of a mess than actually helping, but Luke laughing anyways at the sight of grease smeared across her face. 

There were dozens of memories, hundreds and thousands spilling out as tears fell freely from her eyes now. 

“No,” the denial fell from her lips. “No.”

She didn’t want to believe. She didn’t want to think about the fact that he had left her and by the time she had finally found him, he had decided it was not worth mentioning. Her heart was aching now, as she stared at Kylo Ren, her cousin.

“You know it is the truth.” His voice was soft as he spoke. “He abandoned you. They all did. You waited for years for someone to return and they never did. Luke ran away and hid. Han Solo never gave you a thought once you were gone. And Leia, she was too busy priming a new rebellion to bother looking for you. They didn’t want you, Rey.”

“That’s not true,” but the tears continued to come all the same.

“You’re nothing to them. You’re nothing to anyone, but you could be. You could still have that family. Join me, Rey. Do it now and I will accept you - the way the rest of our family never did. Don’t let them win.”

Rey was lost. She felt as if she were back in that cave, falling and falling into the water only she couldn’t emerge. Her family had left her and maybe one of them had an excuse, a reason for never looking for her, but all of them? Could they all really have just left her, only accepting her now that she had shown her own usefulness. 

A sob fell from her lips. 

His offer seemed sincere. She could have that family. She didn’t have to keep waiting for someone to come back, someone who never intended to return. If she said yes, she could have everything she had ever wanted in life. 

_He’s lying,_ her mind whispered.

_When the dark side comes for you, and it will, you need to be strong enough to stop it._

Luke had warned her - even if he had abandoned her, he had still prepared her for this. Maybe all the family she had, had abandoned her, but that didn’t mean she had to bow down to the dark side to be accepted. 

“No. I’ll never join the dark side. I will never join you.”

Her cousin’s face transformed at that, a sneer taking over his features - so quickly she became nothing to him. She had been right, everything he offered had been a lie. 

He came at her now with more vigor than before, his lightsaber slamming into hers with a force that left her arms trembling as she blocked him. It was harder to fight back now, her emotions were scattered, tears still blurring her sight, as she scrambled to keep him at bay. She was stumbling with each step she took backwards and she fumbled trying to block his next blow. She lifted her lightsaber and he met it with his, before his hand twisted - too fast for her to block - and cut straight through her wrist. 

A scream tore from her lips. Excruciating pain traveled through her, as her disembodied hand and lightsaber flew out from her reach. Kylo Ren snarled down at her, lifting his lightsaber for another attack, and Rey had just enough time to throw herself backwards to miss the descending saber. Her feet were slipping beneath her and then she was falling, back slamming into the ground.

Kylo Ren approached her then, his movements slow and purposeful. His chest heaved with anger as he sneered down at where she had fallen, struggling to get away from him still. It was all for nothing, she couldn’t fight him and she couldn’t run away. He lifted his lightsaber, his face burning red as he prepared to deliver the final blow and kill her once and for all. 

“You should have -”

His body seized then, a shock traveling through it before he began to fall to the ground. Rey rolled, sliding out of the way just as his body crashed to the ground, his lightsaber falling powerlessly to the floor beside him. The girl Rey had seen Finn with in her visions stood in front of her, a look of terrored awe across her face as she clutched onto a taser. Rey sat there stunned for a brief moment, before she began to attempt to stand. The girl bent down to help her, grabbing a hold of her remaining hand and pulling her up.

“I’m Rose.”

“I’m Rey.” Rey released her grip on Rose’s hand. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Here,” she handed Rey a blaster, “you’ll need this.”

Rey could only nod still catching her breath as Rose turned and fired at a stormtrooper that was headed their way. The two began to move together towards where Finn and Poe were now battling together, BB-8 rolling between them, sending out electric shocks. Rey only got a few steps before she froze, unnoticed by Rose, who was fighting off more troopers. 

Rey couldn’t move her limbs, she was frozen in place and everything around her had grown cold as if she had been submerged in ice. The force pulsated around her and Rey felt her heart sink as a figure clad in pale yellow robes swam into her view. 

Snoke was more intimidating now than he had been in the cave. Some part of Rey had known he couldn’t really hurt her then, but he could now. She could feel her throat closing up, her lungs begged for air and Rey was choking in her attempt to breathe. Her feet lifted into the air and her body was forceful swung forward until she was hovering in front of Snoke.

“The Skywalker scavenger,” he drawled, eyes flicking over her struggling form. “What a disappointment you turned out to be.”

Rey wanted to fight. Her entire body was trembling with the need to fight back, to stop Snoke but she was tired. Her body tingled with pain, filling her with agony. The anger and rage that had fueled her before had seeped away, leaving her numb and in despair.

“Your riddled with such worthless emotions.” Rey could feel him rifling through her mind. “And such anger, like your grandfather before you.”

Snoke looked at where Kylo Ren was sprawled across the floor.

“My _apprentice_ ,” his voice was mocking, “bested by a girl with no connection to the force.”

He glanced around at the chaos surrounding them. Finn, Poe, and Rose were all still fighting, but their movements seemed to grow slower with each passing moment - they couldn’t win. They were outnumbered, one to thousands. The most they could hope to do was delay their deaths. 

“You could have prevented this.”

Rey stared at Snoke, transfixed. Had he really been there that day in the cave? Had what he shown her simply been a vision of the future and not something she simply feared? Everything was still around her now, the fighting faded to the background and even the flames seemed to become motionless. 

She had not risked her life coming to this ship to save Finn to fail. She hadn’t trained with Luke for a month to suddenly quit on becoming a Jedi because she had been lied to. There was good in the galaxy and Snoke was trying to squash it. He wanted to kill and destroy everything that mattered to Rey, but Rey would not let that happen. As long as she lived, she would fight and protect the light. 

Snoke would not win.

Rey drew on her emotions - the positive and light that lived around her. She would never win this fight against Snoke with hatred, he possessed that in quantities far greater than she ever would. If she wanted to win, she would need to channel the light. 

Her eyes fluttered closed and she centered herself in the force, Snoke’s grip on her form began to flicker. Opening her eyes, she wrenched her body from his grip and moved out of his reach. She lifted her hand and began to summon Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. The saber zoomed across the air only to stop. Across from her Snoke had raised his hand to summon the lightsaber as well, and it floated suspended between the two of them. 

Rey trembled with the force it took to keep the saber from going into Snoke’s hands. The lightsaber shook in the air between them. Gritting her teeth, Rey gathered more of the force and pulled harder on the saber, as Snoke did the same. The two of them were pushed back from the lightsaber, gliding back as their powers met in the middle. Her hand quivered, as she threw all of her power into combatting Snoke’s grip on the lightsaber.

The lightsaber wobbled in the air between them, seams of pure white light spilling out into the air. Then, it stilled. For one, two, three seconds it remained frozen and then it shattered. Bright white light encased the room, the heart of the strongest stars flared between them.

 _Kyber_ , Rey had time to think as she was thrown back. _The Jedi made their lightsabers from kyber._

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  


Finn’s vision swam back into focus. The last thing he had seen was Rey, standing arm outstretched towards a lightsaber, Snoke opposite of her, and then everything was white. Leaning onto his hands, he pushed himself back into a standing position, eyes searching for Rey, who had been at the center of the blast.

Stumbling forward, he could make out where her body lay prone on the floor. Finn sprinted to her, falling to his knees at her side. His hands trembled as he touched her still face, before he reached for her hand, only to find a burned stump where it should have been. 

“Rey,” he breathed out.

A sigh escaped from her lips and Finn almost sobbed, relief clinging to his veins. He would have never forgiven himself if she had died trying to save him. Gently, Finn shook her shoulders, in an attempt to wake her, but Rey remained stubbornly unconscious. Vaguely, Finn recognized that Rose, Poe, and BB-8 had arrived beside him.

“We need to go now. Before Snoke returns.” Rose said. “Can we carry her?”

“Yeah,” Finn said, words coming automatically. “I can do it.”

Gingerly Finn lifted her up, Poe and Rose assisting until they were all standing. Rey’s head rested on his shoulder, her arm with the missing hand folded carefully across her chest. Quickly, they all began to move, BB-8 leading them through the smoke and flames. Finn’s veins were filled with adrenaline that had been pumping for so hard and for so long that he was sure his heart would burst if they didn’t get away soon. 

Luck seemed to be on their side as they raced through the room, not a single stormtrooper in sight. Or so it seemed, for as soon as the giant doorway appeared so did a line of stormtroopers, all armed with blasters that were ready to be fired. The rebels skidded to a halt, they were outnumbered at least two to one and neither Finn nor Rey could fight. Poe and Rose readied their own blasters, prepared to fight even with the odds being overwhelmingly against them. 

“Wait!” Finn cried before anyone could shoot. He looked at the stormtroopers. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to keep fighting for someone who doesn’t care what happens to you. You could come with us, or run to the other side of the galaxy if you want. You don’t belong to the First Order. It’s not too late to do the right thing.”

The stormtroopers hesitated for a moment, a few murmuring amongst each other, before one in the center stepped forward and raised their blaster.

“Your words are lies and -”

A red blast caught the trooper in the chest. A barrage of fire descended on the others, knocking the line down in seconds. Finn turned, stunned to find that the shots had been fired by a line of three stormtroopers. The stormtrooper in the middle lifted her helmet, revealing a girl with glistening dark skin.

“Did you mean it? We can really go with you?” 

“Yeah.” Finn could feel the grin that was bursting across his face, he knew some would turn if given the opportunity. They just had to know it was an option. “We have room on the ship, but we need to hurry.”

The three stormtroopers exchanged glances before agreeing. Once more the rebels were off, racing down corridors and fighting off those who tried to stop them. Despite how terrible the situation was, Finn couldn’t help but feel light on the inside. He had made a difference. It was only three stormtroopers now, but once others heard there would be more. A small trickle that could turn into a flood. 

Finn heard C-3PO’s voice before he saw him as they ran into the room where their ship was. 

“I was simply suggesting that -”

His next words were cut off by a loud roar from Chewbacca, who Finn was surprised to see standing next to the Millennium Falcon. 

“Master Dameron,” C-3PO exclaimed at the sight of the group. “Our ship was damaged in the fighting, but luckily I was able to contact Chewbacca, who brought the Millenium Falcon.”

“Great work, Threepio.” Poe clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, let’s get out of here.”

They all piled onto the ship and in seconds the engines were running. Finn lowered Rey, gently onto a seat. She shifted as he pulled away, eyes fluttering before she met Finn’s gaze, a smile spreading across her face.

“Finn?” She reached out for him, only to realize once more that her hand was gone. 

“I’m here, Rey.”

In one fluid movement she stood and threw her arms around him, her body sagging in relief at the feel of Finn solid and alive and real against her. Finn held onto her tightly, joy filling his body as he finally allowed himself to accept the fact that they had gotten away and were okay for now. 

“Finn,” she breathed out. “I was so worried. I thought that -”

“I know.” He pulled away. “What happened?”

Her face rippled with happiness and rage, confusion and acceptance, before she sat down, pulling Finn with her and began to tell her story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh this was so much fun to write, even with all the battle scenes which are always my least favorite.
> 
> I really wanted the movie to give Finn a chance to speak up and fight back against the First Order, so it was good to be able to write a scene where he got to do that.
> 
> I don't really care for Kylo Ren at all, but I have to say the quiet vibe he has going on in TFA where he just looks inside his victims mind and pinpoints their weakness is much more intimidating than whatever the fuck TLJ gave us.
> 
> I changed it to Kylo's lightsaber being the one to blow up because it felt like it made more sense. When TFA came out, I remember there was some article or something going on where we were told that his lightsaber was unstable because of the way it was made, so if either one of their lightsabers were going to explode I feel like it would be his. 
> 
> Anyways, leave a comment and let me know what you thought! I also made a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/06avggee7xr9vul4ofszwt2zc/playlist/6Fby4LYsg9eIikPMG9ZzyW) for this fic of all the songs I listen to while writing, so here's [the link](https://open.spotify.com/user/06avggee7xr9vul4ofszwt2zc/playlist/6Fby4LYsg9eIikPMG9ZzyW) to that if you want to check it out. 
> 
> Last chapter will probably be up by Wednesday! Thank you for reading!


	5. Act V

The white surface of Crait gleamed in the afternoon sun as Luke and R2-D2 began their descent. Tiny dots across the surface cleared to become escape pods as they flew closer to the surface, leaving Luke to wonder just what had happened before his arrival. He had seen the wrecked First Order destroyer when he had fallen out of hyperdrive, and for a moment he had felt his heart stop terrified that Leia or Rey’s ship had been caught in the debris that was flying wildly around, but he could still feel both of them in the force.

Luke landed his ship a fair amount away from the escape pods, careful to not alarm those who would be unfamiliar with his ship. Nerves bit at his fingers as he emerged from the cockpit, R2-D2 following. He knew Leia would forgive him for staying away, she would understand, but Luke was still uncertain if he would forgive himself. He had been gone for so long, had missed so much, he wasn’t sure it was possible to make up for everything. 

“Ready, Artoo?”

R2 beeped a vaguely insulting response before rolling forward, the white ground turning to red in his wake. Luke huffed out a laugh, before pulling the hood of his cloak over his head to block the sun and following after R2. Slowly, the two of them made their way towards the fortress. The people that had been milling about outside, stopped to watch as he and R2 passed, whispers erupting as soon as they thought he was out of hearing range. 

He saw Leia before she saw him. Her hair was done up in a bun with an Alderaanian mourning braid strung through. She was surrounded on all sides, handling out orders and discussing what their next move was to be. She stopped, as if she had felt him enter the room, and turned to where he was standing. Luke lifted his hood. For a moment, they simply stared - grief and love burned through his whole body, until he felt as if he would combust if he felt anything else. 

Artoo forcefully nudged him and Luke took the cue to move forward.

“Luke.” Leia’s voice was gentle. “I know what you’re going to say. I’ve changed my hair.”

Relief flooded through his body, a smile growing on his lips, as he nodded in agreement.

“It looks nice that way.” She smiled fondly at him. “Leia, I’m sorry.”

He was sorry for so much. For leaving at all. For failing Ben. For not being there when she would have needed him. For not helping the resistance. For not being there to stop Han from dying. The regret was spilling around him now and if he didn’t anchor himself he’d drown. 

“I know. I know you are. I’m just glad you’re here. At the end.”

“No.” He would not be giving up hope now. “No. This isn’t the end, Leia. I haven’t found anything to help Ben, but we’re still going to try.”

“He killed Han.”

Luke could see the way the words broke her. Leia would never show her weaknesses and if it were anyone else looking, they would never notice when she did. He grabbed onto her hand and squeezed. She wouldn’t have to be alone anymore, she wouldn’t have to pretend to be strong all the time. 

“I know. I - I should have been there.”

“You couldn’t have stopped him. You couldn’t have stopped him with Mara. And you couldn’t stop him with Rey.”

A sting ran through him at the mention of Mara and his daughter.

“But you think you could have?”

He knew she blamed herself. He could feel the guilt within her, she had sent Han to bring their son back and he had died trying to do it. 

“I’m his mother.”

“And Han was his father. You didn’t kill him, Leia. Ben was his son too, and he loved him. I know you know that.”

“I need to face him. I have to see if there’s any light left in him, if my son is still alive.” She paused. “And Snoke. He did this and I need to face him too.”

“Leia.” He did not wish to say his next words, he did not wish to let her know just how much he had failed her. “Snoke is a part of Ben now. If he dies, I don’t know what will happen to Ben. I’m sorry. I’ve looked, but I couldn’t find anything to separate them. What Snoke’s done is older than the Jedi and the Sith - it should be impossible.”

Luke watched the resolve grow in his sister’s eyes. She understood the challenge in front of them and she would not back down now. She loved her son, but she would kill Snoke if she had too - the consequences would be as they may. 

“It’s okay, Luke. If there’s still light in Ben, he’ll return. I know he will, but there isn’t anything you can do about it now. I’m sorry you felt like you had to stay away until you had a solution. Your family -”

“No. That’s not on you, Leia. I did what I thought I had too and some of it was wrong. Rey,” he sighed, “I should have never left her alone that long. I should’ve told you where she was, to have you go for her if I had been gone for too long. I just wanted her to be safe.”

“I would have protected her, Luke. You know I would have.”

“You would have tried, but you’ve always been at the head of things Leia. I wanted her to stay out of this. I thought she would be protected on Jakku, but I was wrong. Ben found her anyways, which means Snoke has as well.”

“You were doing what you thought was right. Rey understands that.”

Luke winced. 

“Rey doesn’t know.”

“Luke,” his sister’s voice was stern. 

“I know. I should have told her and I will, the next time we see each other. I just -”

His next words were cut off by the sound of incoming ships and laser blasts. Leia moved back into General mode immediately, ordering that the fortress be closed, as Luke moved towards the opening to see what exactly was coming. The Millenium Falcon soared wildly across the sky, before it descended and began to skid across the ground, sending startling clouds of red up in its wake. 

Rey, his mind was screaming. Rey should have been here before him. He had allowed himself to get distracted once he had felt that she was alive, but now he could feel her turmoil. A rage harsher than he had ever seen in her was screaming, grief rolling around it, and confusion. There was light - there was always light in Rey, but it was clouded.

It was only seconds before the Millenium Falcon slid into the fortress, just as the giant doors closed. For a moment, the entire room seemed to be frozen, all eyes locked on the ship until the door of the ship descended. Chewbacca’s massive form appeared first followed shortly by C-3PO, who halted at the sight of Luke - the most surprised gestures his protocols allowed him.

“Master Luke,” C-3PO greeted him. 

“It’s good to see you, Threepio.”

Artoo rammed up beside him suddenly, beeping out his own greeting.

“Artoo! You will not believe what has happened since you left. I have been taken on the most terrible of adventures.”

The two droids rolled on, leaving Luke to watch as the others descended from the ship. A small, dark haired girl wearing a First Order uniform exited next, looking weary. Two men dressed similarly to the girl before them and three stormtroopers exited after, a small orange and white BB unit following. It was then that Rey stepped out, arm clutched to her chest.. She hovered on the ramp, eyes roaming until they landed on him. Her face hardened as she started towards him, shoulders stiff, her jaw almost trembling.

She stopped in front of him.

“You lied to me.”

Luke felt as if his chest had caved in. This was not how it was supposed to go.

“Rey -”

“Were you ever going to tell me? Because I told you why I had stayed on Jakku so long. I told you that I was waiting. I . . . I was waiting for you. You knew and you didn’t say anything.”

Angry tears were falling from her eyes now.

“I’m sorry, Rey. I should have told you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to admit that I had left you for so long. I had convinced myself that you were safe, that you were better off.”

“Safe? On Jakku? A planet that has nothing, where I had to become a scavenger as a child so I’d have something to eat. How was that safe?”

“That’s why it was safe, Rey. Because it had nothing. Will you let me explain?”

Hesitantly, she nodded. 

“After everything that happened with Ben, I sent you to stay with Leia and then I left to look for a way to turn Ben back, to get rid of Snoke. But Ben wouldn’t leave it like that, he knew what I was doing and he wanted me to stop. So he,” Luke shuddered out a breath, “he went after Mara - your mother, Mara Jade. I knew that he would come for you next, Rey. I didn’t want to lose you, so I brought you to Jakku. My friend, Lor San Tekka, I gave him the map to where he could find me if he ever needed to and I asked him to watch over you from afar until I returned. I just wanted you to be safe and far away from the fighting. I never meant to leave for as long as I did.”

He needed her to understand, she was his daughter and he would never have done anything to harm her. He had followed in Ben Kenobi’s footsteps, hiding his child on a desert planet and disappearing from the world, but Rey had followed in his. Despite his efforts, Kylo Ren had still found her, she was a part of this war now more than she had ever been before and she was not nearly as prepared as she needed to be. 

“Why couldn’t I remember you?”

Luke looked down as shame filled him once more.

“I didn’t want you coming after me. I used the force to cloud your memories, not to change them, just to alter faces and terrible events that would have haunted you if you remembered.” He met her eye. “You’re my daughter, Rey. I never wanted anything bad to happen to you.”

Rey broke at those words, a sob spilling from her lips and her arm falling from where had been holding it, to reveal that her hand was missing. Luke moved forward and in the next second she was in his arms. For the first time in almost a decade, Luke held his daughter. His heart felt like it was breaking at the pain that ran through her. 

She was angry. God, she was still so angry and she had questions. He would have to provide answers for her soon, but not right now. For now he could simply be her father, he could let her know that he had not meant to abandon her, and that he would never abandon her again. He had missed so much, but that would end now. 

“I’m not going to leave, Rey.” He whispered into her shaking shoulders. “I promise you.”

For just a moment, they could be at peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose felt dazed as she walked off the Millenium Falcon. Everything that had just happened felt like it was a dream and now it was as if she was waiting to wake up. Had she really just infiltrated the First Order? Not even a day ago, she had thought she was nothing to the rebellion, just someone who stayed behind the scenes doing work that was needed but not appreciated.

Now, she was the girl who had hacked into the First Order ship and tased Kylo Ren.

Her mind stuttered over the sentence. Rose had _tased_ Kylo Ren and saved the Jedi, Rey. It was almost too much to comprehend and yet it had happened. The fight wasn’t over yet, she knew that, but that didn’t stop the giddy disbelief from building. She couldn’t wait to tell Paige.

Paige.

Almost instantly the lightness around her seemed to fade. Some of the escape pods had been blown up on the way down - she had seen the debris from the Falcon. Frantically, her eyes began to search around for her sister. Paige had to be here. Rose had so much to tell her. 

“Rose!”

She spun around faster than was physically possible, finally letting go of the breath she had been holding. 

“Paige!”

Rose raced over to where her sister was standing, leaning heavily against a cane. A bright smile was spread across her face, a contrast to the heaviness that was in her eyes. Rose hugged her as soon as Paige was within reach. A dozen questions were prepared to fall from her mouth as she pulled away.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Paige said. “When I woke up and they said you had gone, I was so worried.”

“You were worried about me? Paige, I was worried about you. You almost died today, you were willing to die to take out that Dreadnought. Why would you do that?”

“I’m sorry, Rose. But I couldn’t not take the opportunity. If I had to die to take out the Dreadnought, then I would have.”

Rose felt her face fall. She loved her sister to then end of the galaxy, but how could she not see that it wouldn’t matter how many First Order ships they took out if the only people who were willing to fight against them died as well.

“We’re never going to win if we fight like that Paige. We have to fight for what we love, not just fighting out of hate. Dreadnoughts are horrible and I know you saved so many lives taking it out, but what would have happened if you died? I’m fighting for us, Paige - our family. What do we have to fight for when everything we love is gone?”

Paige was silent for a long moment.

“You’re right. I know you’re right. Just sometimes, it feels like all of our fighting is for nothing. I just wanted to make a difference, Rose. I don’t want anyone else to suffer the way we did.”

Rose grabbed onto her sister’s hand.

“You did make a difference. I just want you to be alive to see the changes you made.”

Paige smiled, doing her best to blink the exhaustion from her eyes. 

“I should say the same to you. Someone told me you were infiltrating the First Order with the stormtrooper who defected. What happened when I was out, Rose?”

There were a million things she wanted to tell Paige in that moment, but the surreal daze feeling returned then and instead of talking about what Maz had taught her or how she had learned to become a First Order destroyer hacker in less than twelve hours, she said,

“I tased Kylo Ren.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poe had been delighted when he had seen the Millenium Falcon waiting for them, an emotion that tripled when he got tossed in the co-pilot seat next to Chewbacca. He had heard stories about the ship since he was a kid and now he was getting the opportunity to fly it. It was only after they cleared the First Order ship that he began to worry.

It didn’t take him long to figure out that the Resistance cruiser was gone, that it had rammed into the First Order destroyer, and that whoever had stayed behind to pilot the ship was certainly dead. Leia, his mind provided. He shook the thought off almost immediately, it was likely that she had stayed behind, but Poe couldn’t allow himself to consider the possibility, not when he needed to focus. 

If she had to, Poe knew Leia would sacrifice herself, but the resistance needed her now more than ever. Their alliances were constantly fluctuating, often almost burning out completely, but it was Leia who always came through, breathing new life and rebuilding the resistance until it could stand on its own against the First Order. Without Leia . . . 

Poe pushed the thought aside. He would worry about it when they landed on Crait, if he needed to worry about it at all. 

He focused on piloting instead, aiding Chewbacca in evading the First Order ships that raced after them as they made their descent. The landing was bumpy, but everyone made it out okay. Poe took a minute to check in with everyone, evading the inevitable, before he finally stepped out from the ship beside Finn and the three rebel stormtroopers. 

“Leia,” he sighed, relief flooding through him at the sight of her.

Poe moved towards her, motioning for Finn and the three ex-stormtroopers to follow him. 

“Poe, Finn, I’m glad to see you all made it back in one piece,” she eyed the new addition to their group, “and with friends.”

Finn smiled hesitantly, looking at the three ex-stormtroopers as if he couldn’t quite believe they were really there. 

“They defected against the First Order, like I did. Do you think we can help them?”

And even though Finn had asked it as if it were a question, it was clear to everyone that he would help the defectors no matter what the answer was. 

“Of course. Once we get off of this planet, we’ll be able to assist you in taking you wherever you wish to go. Unless you wish to stay and join the resistance, in which case we’ll be happy to have you.”

“You really mean it? We can just go, we don’t have to work for you if we don’t want to?” asked one of the ex-stormtroopers, disbelief coating her words.

“We’re volunteers. No one has to stay if they don’t want to.” From across the room, someone shouted for General Leia. “If you’ll excuse me.”

As she passed, she grabbed a hold of Poe’s shoulder and squeezed, before moving on. It was enough for Poe to know that she had feared for his life the way he had been fearing for hers only moments before. 

From there the room exploded into organized chaos. Bags and comlinks were unpacked, surveillance was set up, as others moved around taking stock of supplies. Dust that had gathered over the old base was sent scattering throughout the room each time someone moved.

“All right, shields are up so they can’t hit us from orbit,” Poe announced moving over to where Lieutenant Connix and Finn were working. “Use whatever power we’ve got left to broadcast a distress signal to the outer rim.”

“Use my personal code,” the General instructed, stepping up to join them. “If there are any allies to the resistance, it’s now or never.”

Poe nodded, the weight of the General’s words weighing on him. Poe began to turn to head to another station, when he suddenly froze at the sight in front of him.

“Is that . . . ?”

“Luke Skywalker,” Finn finished for him.

Luke Skywalker was sitting down across from Rey, who was being checked out by a medical droid - something Poe had insisted Finn do almost as soon as they had landed and finished talking to the General. Beside the two was R2-D2 and C-3PO, but perhaps the most startling part of the scene was when BB-8 forcibly rammed himself into R2-D2 before sending out a series of beeps filled with words that Poe didn’t know were possible to say in binary. 

If the situation around them hadn’t been so serious Poe might have stared utterly perplexed at the scene for as long as possible. But when Rose’s frustrated face appeared in Poe’s line of sight, he switched instantly back into planning mode.

“Rose! What have you got?”

“Rotted munitions, rested artillery, and some half-gutted ski speeders.”

“Well, let’s just pray that big ass door holds long enough for us to get help.”

The ground rumbled around them, sand spilling down from the ceiling. Finn moved to look through the macrobinoculars that were set up for surveillance outside of the fortress. 

“A battering ram cannon,” Finn said.

“A what now?”

Finn moved away from the macrobinoculars to look at Poe.

“Miniaturized Death Star tech. It’ll crack that door open like an egg.”

“There has to be a back way out of here, right?” Rose said.

BB-8 rolled in alongside C-3PO. 

“BB-8, what have you got?”

A series of beeps met Poe’s question, and C-3PO translated for everyone.

“BB-8 has analyzed the schematics. This is the only way in or out.”

The doors trembled, the sound of metal creaking echoed through the room. Discouraged whispers crackled through the room, but it was Finn who spoke up next.

“Come on. We have allies. People believe in Leia. They’ll get our message. They’ll come, but we have to buy time. We gotta take out that cannon.”

Poe could only stare in inspired awe at Finn, a smile forming on his face. It seemed that every time Poe began to feel as if hope was lost, Finn was there bringing it back to life. It was a wonder that the First Order had missed the light that flared inside of Finn, but Poe was relieved that they had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn was silent as he waited in his ski-speeder for the order to take off. His fingers ached with nerves and the need to move, but years of training had taught him how to be perfectly still when waiting, a habit he had yet to shake. He had been fighting all day and yet it appeared as if everything he had done had been for nothing.

The First Order still had them cornered. Their allies were still out of reach and now they didn’t even have a ship to leave in. They had to take out that battering ram, it wasn’t an option. Finn wouldn’t let their efforts today be for nothing. The stormtroopers - WX-6101, FV-3351, and ML-3750 - had believed in him enough to turn their backs on the only life they had ever known. They trusted him that they’d be safe away from the First Order, that they’d be offered a second chance.

Finn couldn’t fail them.

“Ground forces, incoming,” a man reported.

“Copy that,” Poe’s voice replied. “We’re on our way.”

Finn started the engine on his ski-speeder and pulled out of the fortress, landing shakily as the old ship struggled after so many years of disuse. The speeder wobbled from side to side, crashing against the ground before rising up and falling once more, sending a cloud of red up in its wake.

“Hey, engage your monoski,” Rose instructed from her speeder. “The green switch.”

Finn complied and the speeder evened out below him, picking up speed at the gained stability. 

“All right, listen up,” Poe’s voice said. “I don’t like these rust buckets and I don’t like our odds.” The sound of clanging metal occured before a part of Poe’s speeder fell off. “ _What the hell?_ Just keep it tight and don’t get drawn in too close until they roll that cannon out front.”

As one, each speeder began to accelerate until the First Order’s vehicles came into view. A variety of AT walkers lined the horizon.

“All right ground forces, lay down some fire!”

Laser blasts fired across the horizon, slamming into the First Orders walkers without leaving any indication of damage. TIE-fighters descended from the sky and began firing down on the ski-speeders below. 

“Fighters, Break off!”

Finn swerved to the left, missing a blast by a mere meter. He veered his ship in zig-zags, doing his best to avoid being hit as some of the ships around him exploded. Red clouds bloomed across his vision and Finn lurched his ship to the right, hoping that since he couldn’t see the TIE-fighters above that they couldn’t see him. 

“Come on! We’ve got to hold them until they pull up that canon.”

Finn maneuvered out of the way of as a TIE-fighter bared down on him from above, disappearing in the red clouds, only to emerge unscathed. In the sky, he could make out just who the TIE-fighters were targeting.

“Rose! You’ve got three right behind you!”

Finn could only watch as Rose swerved, slamming on the acceleration as lasers hit the spot she had just been, but the TIE-fighters remained on her tail. 

“I can’t lose them!” 

Distress was clear in her voice and for a moment, Finn was certain that her ship would be hit - fear gripped him at the thought. A new ship descended, shooting down the three TIE-fighters in one move. Luke Skywalker’s ship soared above them, maneuvering across the First Order’s defense with ease as he shot down each ship with precision. 

The TIE-fighters abandoned the speeders then, all of them switching course to follow after Skywalker’s ship which flew off in the opposite direction of the speeders.

“He drew them off! All of them!” Poe’s voice cried out in awe.

“Oh, they hate Luke Skywalker!” Relieved laughter was clear in Finn’s voice.

Finn centered his ship. It was easier to avoid the blasts that were fired at them now from the remaining ships that weren’t picking them off like mice. In front of him, the battering ram came into sight.

“There it is!” Rose said, sounding breathless. “That is a big gun.”

Finn leaned forward in his seat, preparing his ship to fire.

“Okay, tunnel your armor! Our only shot is right down the throat,” he said.

Slowly, the center of the battering ram began to open. A glowing orange light began to spill out.

“The canon’s opening. This is our chance!”

Finn boosted his acceleration as high as the speeder would take. In front of them, the AT walkers began to open fire - a wave of red blasts flew across the field, taking out two speeders in seconds. Finn’s hands shook as he swerved to miss being hit as a speeder on his right exploded into flames, the anguished scream of the pilot echoed through Finn’s speaker. Another two were blown up in the seconds it took Finn to straighten his speeder.

“They’re picking us all off,” Poe said. “We’re not going to make it.”

Finn knew the chances were thin at this point, but they couldn’t give up now, not when they were only minutes away from halting the First Order’s advances.

“All right, making my final approach. Target in sight. Guns are hot,” Finn said, as he slammed his foot down on the acceleration, begging the ship to go faster.

“No! Pull on out,” Poe ordered.

“What?”

“The canon’s charged. It’s a suicide mission!”

“No! I’m almost there!”

Finn had to do this, he owed it to the resistance. He owed it to the stormtroopers who had abandoned the First Order because of him. He couldn’t fail them now. He couldn’t just stand by and let the First Order win.

“Retreat, Finn. That’s an order!”

But Finn continued on forward. He wouldn’t quit, not now, not when people were counting on him. What would his life even be worth if the First Order breached the fortress? They would kill him when they found him and then kill everyone else, but if he destroyed the battering ram they’d have more time. Their allies would show up, if Finn had to die so that others could live, he would do it.

Behind him the other speeders had fallen back and had begun to return to the fortress, except one which accelerated to race beside him now.

“Finn.” Poe’s voice was softer this time. “You need to turn around.”

It was Poe in the speeder next to him. They both swerved to miss a laser blast.

“What are you doing, Poe? Turn around!”

“No. I’m not turning around until you do.”

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Finn could sacrifice himself, but Poe didn’t have to. 

“I won’t let them win, Poe. I can’t. Just let me take out the battering ram.”

“They’re not going to win, Finn. The only way they’re going to win here is if you die.”

“If they get through with that battering ram -”

“We’ll handle it. I promise you, Finn. The resistance doesn’t die today. Turn around.”

In front of them, the battering ram glowed brighter. A beam of orange-yellow light was expanding across the field to where it collided against the fortress. Finn chanced a glance at Poe’s speeder before he nodded. He wasn’t sure what the plan was, if there even was a plan, but he would trust Poe. 

“Okay. Let’s go back.”

Together, the two speeders pulled back and raced towards the fortress, as the battering ram began to split a hole into the doors of the fortress. It was only once he was back safely inside the fortress that Finn felt his heart slamming into his ribs, only then did the nerves set in. With shaky feet, he pulled himself from the cockpit.

Vaguely, he had to wander if they were all going to die because he had turned around. For a brief moment, he doubted himself, suddenly certain that he had made the wrong choice. He was sure others would blame him for the losses that occurred today, anything that happened now could be his fault. If things had been different, if the situation had been reversed and he was still a stormtrooper, the First Order would have let him die. They would have praised his sacrifice or punished his cowardice if he had turned around. 

He watched as Poe climbed out from his own speeder before heading his way. For one absurd moment, he was certain Poe was going to be angry at him for disobeying orders. His face was blank as he approached.

“Poe,” Finn began, but he never got around to finishing his sentence.

In one move, Poe had embraced him. His hands gripping onto Finn as if he was afraid he would disappear if he let go. Finn held on equally as tight, surprised to feel the way Poe’s shoulders shook, his breath coming out fast and unsteady. The tension that had been building in Finn’s mind before dissipated and his body relaxed in Poe’s grip. 

Then all too soon Poe was pulling away, but his hand remained on Finn’s shoulder their faces still close together.

“What were you thinking, Finn?”

“They need to be stopped, Poe. What if everything we’ve done has been for nothing?”

“It wasn’t for nothing, Finn. Even if we all die here today, we’ve still won. We failed to have the tracking device disabled long enough for our cruiser to escape, but you’ve started a rebellion, Finn. You told all of those stormtroopers your story and they heard you, they know that they can do the same. I know that only three stormtroopers turned with us, but you’ve planted the idea that others could do the same and they’re going to now. That’s not nothing. Finn, you are the spark that lit the fire that’s going to burn the First Order to the ground.”

Finn wanted to protest. He hadn’t done that much, he had been captured and spoke out, but that was it. He had only wanted to give the other stormtroopers the knowledge that they could leave, that they didn’t have to live doing things that they hated for people that manipulated them. 

But Finn remembered how he had felt when Poe had told him about Bodhi Rook. It was better when he knew he wasn’t the only one who defected, when he knew that someone else had done so in the past and succeeded. He had felt less alone and if he had made others feel that way, then perhaps he hadn’t failed. 

The First Order had always made Finn feel isolated. They had discouraged emotional ties and encouraged sacrifice for the team. The individuals didn’t matter, everyone in the First Order could be replaced. Someone could be stolen, someone could be bought. There were never any holes to poke through, but the resistance was different. The resistance needed the individual's, it wouldn’t matter how many people sacrificed themselves, in the end they needed the individuals to work together to create a whole greater than the sum of their parts. The only way the resistance would win was if they stood together. 

“We,” Finn corrected thinking of Poe and Rose and Rey and Luke and Leia. “We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order to the ground.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fires blazed around the opening that had been formed in the fortress doors. Debris was scattered around and Leia stepped carefully to avoid it. Slowly, she exited the fortress and stepped into the light. The shimmering white salt that had covered the ground when they arrived was stained a blood red now. She walked alone, one woman against a line of AT walkers with only a lightsaber and blaster to defend herself.

She stopped halfway across the field where the ground turned from red to white and waited. The Upsilon-class command shuttle that had been hovering in the air trailing behind the walkers landed. A ramp lowered from the ship and Leia watched as her son descended. He walked towards her, strides purposeful as the ground behind him became tainted with red.

She could see now what Luke had meant when he said that Snoke had become a part of Ben. The force was pulsing angrily against her son, dark and cold as it threatened to swallow the single spark of light that remained. For a moment, Leia could only gaze at her son. He looked older, his face weathered with more years than he had experienced, a scar ran along his cheek. His eyes were colder than she had ever remembered them being, but there was a hint of warmth - the barest sign that her son was still alive.

He stopped a few feet away from her.

“Ben.”

Her son flinched at the sound of his own name.

“Leia.”

Leia shook her head, a sigh falling from her lips.

“I’m your mother, Ben.”

“Ben is dead,” he cut her off. “Your son is dead.”

Leia inched closer.

“My son is standing in front of me. I know you don’t want to do this. You don’t have to.”

“Everything I’ve done has been my choice.”

“No, it hasn’t. It’s been Snoke, he’s manipulated you. I can feel the conflict within you and I know you feel it too. Let go of your hate and return with me. It’s not too late.”

Her son stared at her and she could feel the conflict from before amplify and grow. If she could get through to him, if he could see that the light would welcome him, her son would return. She believed he would, she had to.

His eyes fluttered closed for a moment, his face twitching in discontent and pain before he looked at her.

“I am conflicted,” he admitted. “I can feel it in the force calling to me, even now.”

“Let it go. Let go of Snoke. There is light in you, accept it. Come home, Ben.”

“The light,” Leia felt the force flare up between them, the warmth of it flooded her veins but her son grimaced. “It burns.”

He tore away from her and stumbled back, his face turning into a scowl.

“The light destroys. It burns and yet it calls to me even now, the same way it did when Han Solo tried to turn me.”

Leia could feel her son’s life slipping through her fingers, the light that had lived in him spilling out from her reach. Her heart felt as if it had turned to stone at the sound of her late husband’s name.

“Han was your father. He -”

“He said he’d help me. He said he’d help me bring an end to my inner conflict and yet it has remained. The light refuses to be ignored. The call should have stopped.”

Terror built in her bones at the sound of her son’s words, yet Leia could not just give up on him.

“Ben, you’ve been deceived. The light cleanses. Han and I love you, we would never try to hurt you.”

A snarl formed on his lips then.

“Liar! You only cared when I became an inconvenience and then you shipped me off to Luke, as if he could have done anything to stop me. And Han Solo had never cared about anything or anyone. None of you ever cared.”

Leia’s face grew stormy then.

“I loved you. I still love you, Ben. Despite everything that has happened, I still love you. I raised you the same way my family raised me - with love and hope and peace. And when I felt like I was losing you to Snoke, I sent you to Luke because I thought he would be my only hope in saving you. And Han? Han loved you more than anything, he adored you when you were growing up and he died trying to return you to our home. How could you kill him?”

In the distance, Leia could see another figure descend from the landed shuttle.

“Han Solo let me kill him. He tried to manipulate me like you are! He thought he could bring me back to the light and I let him believe that, but we both knew only one of us would walk out from there.”

The light from before was still there, yet it seemed dimmer to Leia now. How had she let her son become such a monster? How could she have let this happen? He had killed his own father and so far the only sorrow she had seen him show over the manner was when he expressed his hatred for the way that the light continued to call to him.

This wasn’t her son, it couldn’t be.

“You’re wrong, Ben. Your father and I never manipulated you. It’s Snoke, it’s always been Snoke. Can’t you feel it? His hatred is not your own, you can still return to me. Come home.”

For just a moment, she saw the conflict clearly written across her son’s face, but in the next second he was sent sprawling backwards through the force. The figure Leia had seen before came into view. Pale yellow robes swept across the ground as Snoke’s towering figure approached. His hand was outstretched and the Skywalker lightsaber that had been on her son’s belt flew into Snoke’s grip.

Leia felt her blood turn to fire, fury coursed through her veins as she looked at the man who had stolen so much from her family. 

“I should have known he would not be strong enough to kill you.”

The lightsaber powered on as Snoke continued his steady approach.

“You should have known that he would be strong enough to resist you, even after everything you’ve done.”

With steady hands, Leia removed the lightsaber from it’s holster on her waist. Pale blue light surrounded her as she powered it on. 

“Resist? There is not a thought in his mind that I don’t know. I will kill you and he will become more loyal to me than ever before. Your resistance will fall at our hands.”

He struck at her then and Leia blocked his strike easily before parrying with one of her own. Snoke swung at her with precision and Leia kept on the offense, her eyes cold and calculating. Snoke’s seven foot form towered over her and with each swing he bent, his weight falling into the lightsaber which she would then block or simply move back out of his reach. His balance was compromised with each strike he made and Leia would use it to her advantage. 

The next time he swung at her, she locked their blades and held them there until her arms began to tremble from the weight. She dropped then, freeing her blade and twisting around, slashing across his thigh before popping back up and sending a series of blows that Snoke was left stumbling to block.

She fought with rage. All the poison that Snoke had been dripping into her family had accumulated and she would unleash it now. She swung her lightsaber forward, too fast for Snoke to block, and slashed across his chest. He staggered back before charging at her, using the force to center the barrage of bows he threw her way. 

Around them the force shook, trembling under the opposing pulls. Leia believed in the light, but she fought with both sides of the force. She pulled at the light and dark and created a balance that was stronger than what any one side could offer. 

Snoke bore down on her, his strikes heavy and quick against her own blade as she fought to keep him at bay. A weighted blow sent her stumbling back, lightsaber flying from her hand. He rushed at her then, saber raised to strike her down as she raised her own hand in call of her own blade. The force swirled around them, the hum of the saber filled the air as Snoke swung down.

Two blades stopped the descent of his lightsaber inches from her face. Her own blade had reached her hand just in time, as another met Snoke’s head on. Luke stood beside her, lightsaber clasped in both hands over her head to block Snoke. She met his eye and he nodded, this was her fight, but he would stand beside her.

Together, their lightsabers pushed back against Snoke’s and he lurched back, angrily taking the offense. Leia sent a flurry of blows at Snoke, Luke following covering any of her weak spots. The force sang against her fingertips, the light hummed around where she and Luke stood, balance settling in Leia’s heart, as the air around Snoke pulastated, angry and raw. 

Snoke had violated the Force. He had wielded it for unnatural purposes for decades and the evidence was clear on his disfigured and mutilated face. There were gaping holes along his neck and even one in his cheek. His face was cracked in the middle, a scar tracing down his forehead. He could manipulate the force to his own will, he could make it do things that were impossible, but it would fight against him. It would never aid him the way it did with Leia. 

Luke twirled his lightsaber before slamming it into Snoke’s. Leia followed slicing her blade forward, it slide across Snoke’s arm, slashing through veins and nerves with devastating efficiency before Snoke could pull away. His hand jerked unsteadily, as he rushed against them once more. Luke and Leia worked as a team; Luke blocking as Leia sent forth her own assault, her saber cutting into Snoke at each opportunity.

Red sand blazed in the air as Snoke stumbled back. Luke slammed his lightsaber forward, arching it to catch the underside of Snoke’s hold, and the saber flew from his grip. Leia pushed forward then merciless, lightsaber slashing through Snoke’s shoulder as she kicked out. He fell, yellow robes billowing out as he raised his hand in a struggle to call the lightsaber back. 

The saber flew through the air and landed in Luke’s open hand. Leia’s chest heaved as she circled Snoke’s fallen form. She could do whatever she wished, he was powerless against the two of them. She remembered Luke’s warning then, that if she killed Snoke it could mean killing Ben as well. Ben who had killed Han, who had tried to kill Rey and Luke, who had partook in destroying entire planets. 

As long as Snoke lived, her son was lost. 

She chanced a glance across the field. Ben stood a few meters away, frozen at the sight in front of him. For just a second, their eyes met - he had her eyes still, if nothing else. She looked away. Snoke was struggling to inch away from her. She could feel him trying to gather the force to attack against her, but it would not come to his call. 

Without remorse, Leia lifted her lightsaber and slashed through his neck, severing it from his body. His head rolled from his shoulders, dark blood spilling into the red salt below. 

For a moment, everything stilled. The First Order ships were frozen, as if they could not believe that Leia had just killed their leader. Her son, still alive, stared at her from across the field, expression twisted into something she couldn’t understand. Luke had moved to stand next to her, his hand brushing against hers in solidarity.

The stillness broke at the sound of ships descending. The AT walkers rumbled to life, as laser blasts were shot down from an array of resistance ships. Lando Calrissian’s freighter soared above them, laser cannons blasting against the First Order’s vehicles. Maz Kanata’s ship swept through in the distance, heavy fire raining down, a series of X-wings followed after her, picking off some of the smaller First Order vehicles. 

The red salt swirled in the air around them and without thinking Leia moved forward, ignoring the chaos that surrounded them. She halted only a few feet from her son. Snoke was dead, he couldn’t still be a part of Ben. Her son could finally be free of the conflict within, he just had to come home. Slowly, she offered her hand.

Ben stared at her, pain clear in his eyes. He stepped back, head shaking, his body trembling with new found rage. His eyes shifted then, burning gold where there had once been brown. Without a word, he turned. The light within slipped then, the flicker dying as he strode away from her. 

So that was it. Her son was truly gone. Even with Snoke gone, Ben Organa had chosen the dark side.

When she turned to move back to the fortress, Luke was waiting - face solemn. He hugged her then and Leia let herself be pulled in, eyes closing as she allowed herself one minute to break. She had been fighting for so long and in the end she had always won - the Galactic Empire fell, Palpatine died, Snoke had fallen. Yet nothing she won could make up for everything that she had lost - her family, her planet, her husband, her son. 

“I’m sorry, Leia,” Luke told her.

“I’m sorry, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn felt as if someone had stolen the air from his lungs. He had watched as Leia Organa single handedly faced down Kylo Ren and then Snoke, her brother joining her against him near the end. Two people had faced down the darkest power in the galaxy and prevailed. Snoke was dead. The entire fortress had been silent in that moment, stunned.

“She killed him” The awe was clear in Poe’s voice. 

Out from the sky dozens of ships descended and began to fire on the First Order.

“That’s Maz’s ship!” Finn pointed.

“She made it,” Rose said.

“We’ve got to start an evacuation,” Poe began. “We -”

The words stopped halfway out of his mouth as he gazed at something out on the field. Finn turned his head back to see what was happening and felt his heart stop short at the sight in front of him as a grin began to form on his face. One of the AT walkers had twisted so that it was facing the other walkers and had opened fire. 

“Are they . . . ?”

“They’re firing at each other,” Finn confirmed. “That’s an HS model, they’re mainly run by stormtroopers.”

And as they watched, another walker pulled from the frey and began firing at the others around it.

“They’re rebelling,” the ex-stormtrooper, ML-3750 said.

Finn wrenched his eyes from the scene, smiling broadly, only to find Poe already gazing at him. The spark had caught and it would only be a matter of time before it began to burn. 

“Think the Falcon can fit through that?” Finn nodded to the gaping hole in the wall.

“Maybe.” Finn could see excitement building in Poe’s eyes. “Why? What are we going to do?”

“Let’s go fight.”

“All right. Let’s do it. You get Rey from the medical droids. Rose, you get Paige.” He looked at the ex-stormtroopers. “You coming with us?”

They nodded.

“Okay, I’ll get the droids and Chewbacca. We take off as soon as the General’s back.”

They scattered, exhilaration running through each of them at the turn of events. By the time Finn and Rey made it back to the Millenium Falcon most of their party was already there. Leia, Luke, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Chewie were all in the cockpit, preparing the ship to take off. Rose was helping Paige settle down. The three ex-stormtroopers - WX-6101, FV-3351, and ML-3750 - were keeping out of the way, helping those who were having trouble moving around the ship. Outside of the ship, the remains of the resistance was piling into rescue ships.

BB-8 rolled up to Rey and began beeping excitedly.

“Finn!” Poe clasped him on the shoulder. “You want to take a gunner position?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. You go down, I’ll take the top.”

Finn agreed and the two moved into position - Poe climbing up the ladder to his position, as Finn climbed down and pulled on his headset. 

“Finn, Poe, you two in position? We’re preparing to take off.”

“I’m in position,” Finn said. 

“Ready to fire,” Poe affirmed.

The Millenium Falcon pulled out from the fortress, it’s wide edges scraping the sides of the hole as it pushed through. Red salt flared around Finn’s position, obscuring his vision until they lifted up further into the sky. Crait was a battle field in front of them. TIE-fighters zoomed around, chasing down or being chased by X-wings. The AT walkers were tied in a battle between defending themselves against the new resistance ships or against the AT-HS walkers that were turning against them. 

“Up ahead, do you think we can get that AT-M6?” Finn asked.

“The M6? Yeah, I see it. We can hit it.”

The Falcon accelerated then as Poe fired off three quick shots at the M6, before the Falcon lifted and curved around. Finn aimed his weapon at where he knew the M6 canon’s were stored and fired off two quick shots that left parts of the walker engulfed in orange flames. 

They worked in harmony from there. Finn or Poe picking out a vehicle to attack with Poe taking the first shots and Finn following to finish them off. The process continued over and over only being interrupted when First Order TIE-fighters or shuttles chased after them where whoever was closer would fire at the offending vehicle as the Skywalkers navigated the ship to where it needed to be. It was only once the last rescue ship flew from the fortress that they stopped firing, the ship switching gears and heading towards space.

Finn watched as the remains of the First Order’s highest officials disappeared, a smile slowly forming on his face as he realized that the Resistance still had fight left in them. Soon whatever remained of the First Order would burn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rey clutched the stump of where her hand used to be. She would have to wait until they landed on a new planet to get a prosthetic, but the medical droids that had hovered over her on Crait said she’d be fine and that she was lucky she didn’t have extensive nerve damage. BB-8 had kept her company since they had boarded the Falcon, beeping non-stop about everything that had happened since Rey had left.

It was only once they had entered hyperspace that Luke abandoned the pilot seat to see her. Hesitantly, he took the seat next to her. Carefully, he extracted a lightsaber from his cloak, the lightsaber she had lost on the Supremacy.

“This lightsaber belonged to my father and it was my first lightsaber.” He extended the lightsaber to Rey. “It’s yours, Rey. If you still want it.”

Rey glanced between Luke and the saber. Only weeks ago she had stood on that mountain top extending the lightsaber to him, unaware of her connection to everything. Now Luke was holding it out to her, an olive branch, it would be a fresh start to everything. Carefully she took the lightsaber from his hands, before delicately twisting it in her hand.

“Thank you, Lu-” She halted her sentence, slightly wary. “I don’t know what to call you.”

It still hadn’t quite fully comprehended that he was her father. Her hidden memories were still fresh in her mind and she played them over trying to connect the dots in her head from Luke, the Jedi myth, to the Luke who was her father.

“Father, if you want. Luke’s fine if you don’t.”

Rey was silent for a long moment, considering.

“Father. I think I’d like to call you that.”

Luke was watching her, a sad smile on his face.

“I’m going to do better, Rey. I promise. Once we land we’ll talk about it, about everything that’s happened.”

“About my mother?”

“Yeah. We’ll talk about Mara.”

Rey could feel the smile building on her face. She wanted to be hesitant with the situation, to not fall in head first and risk getting hurt again, but hope was budding in her heart. All she had ever wanted was for her family to return to her, she just wanted them back, and now she had them. Kylo Ren had tried to manipulate her into believing her family didn’t care for her, but he had been wrong. 

Rey spotted Leia in the cockpit, looking forlorn and nostalgic.

“I heard Leia killed Snoke.”

“She did.”

“Did Kylo Ren . . . ?”

“No. Ben is alive, but he’s chosen the dark side.”

“He hates me,” Rey confided. “He tried to make me hate you, to join him against you, and when I refused, he just burned with hatred. I didn’t know it was possible to hate something so fiercely.”

“Ben was a good kid once. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but we once thought he would be the best of Han and Leia. He just went down the wrong path. Snoke manipulated him, but he still chose to go down the road that he did.”

“You said Snoke had entwined himself to Ben in the force. What if he’s still there? What if he just lives in Kylo Ren now?”

Luke sighed then - it was a possibility he had wanted to delay considering, but it didn’t change the end result.

“I don’t know, Rey, but whatever light lived in Ben is gone. We’re still going to have to stop him for this war to end.”

“Then we’ll stop him.” She gripped onto the Skywalker lightsaber. “Together.”

“Together,” her father repeated. 

He sat with her a bit longer before C-3PO called him away.

Rey spotted the girl who had saved her before - Rose, her name had been Rose. She was leaning over the sleeping figure of an older girl who looked similar. Rey stood and made her way over to the girl. 

“Rose.” The girl startled at the sound of her name and looked up, a soft ‘oh’ slipping from her mouth at the sight of Rey. “I wanted to thank you, for helping me earlier.”

For some odd reason, Rey felt the need to fidget as irrational anxiety settled on her. Perhaps it had been a mistake to come over when the girl was so obviously busy, but the nerves disappeared as the girl smiled up at Rey.

“I - of course. You’re welcome. Anyone would have done the same.” A blush bloomed over Rose’s cheeks as she stumbled over the words. “You were really good out, when you fighting against him. I saw some of it and it was really impressive.”

“Thanks. You were really good too. BB-8 told me how you hacked into the ship.”

Rose beamed at Rey’s words.

“Did you want to sit down? There’s room if you’re not busy.”

“Sure.”

Carefully, Rey sat and listened as Rose began to talk about what had happened on the mission before Rey had arrived. For the first time in a long time, Rey felt at peace. It felt as if she was finally going home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn was not hiding. He just needed a few minutes to be alone. The weight of everything that had happened today seemed to finally fall on his shoulders and he needed to sort through it. The stormtroopers had rebelled, at least some of them had. The three that were on the Falcon now were kind, yet reticent.

He didn’t blame them, he still felt as if he needed to keep everything to himself. He had spoken to them for a few minutes once they had gotten off of Crait and he knew they were all still deciding on whether they wanted to join the resistance or not. FV-3351 seemed the most enthusiastic out of the three to join the fight and Finn was sure she would. They had spoken about names too and when he had left them they were tossing out ideas amongst themselves over what they wanted to be called now.

Finn had felt his heart warming at the sight, but they weren’t the reason he was hiding out in the gunner’s chair. It was Phasma’s words that he hadn’t been able to get out of his head. 

_We should have left you to die on Artorias._

Artorias. Could it really be the name of his home planet? Or had it just been one last cruel trick to make him hope for something he would never have? He had wondered his entire life who he was and where he had come from and with one word he had come closer and yet also further than he had ever been before from finding the truth. 

He’d have to research the planet on the Holonet once they landed somewhere permanent. If he could even line up the timelines of when he was stolen to whenever the First Order visited the planet, he’d be that much closer to solving the questions that were spinning in his mind. He would ask Rey for help when the time came, she knew what it was like to miss family, to wonder what had become of them.

Finn leaned back in the gunner’s chair and let out a slow breath. They had won today. Snoke had died. A portion of the First Order had been crushed and the stormtroopers had rebelled. Yet something still felt off to Finn. He reached for his sleeve, wanting to run his thumb along the leather on the jacket Poe had given him, only to find that the jacket wasn’t there.

He had accidently left it behind on the other ship. A weight sunk in his stomach at the realization. He had been using the jacket to ground himself before, a reminder that he wasn’t a stormtrooper anymore - that he had gotten away. Just the sight of the jacket had been able to calm his nerves. He would have to find something to replace it somehow.

Sighing, Finn began to climb up the ladder that led back into the main part of the Falcon, his thoughts sorted for the time being. He was on his way to find Rey when he heard Poe call for him, a grin evident in his voice as Finn spun around to face him.

“Finn! I was just looking for you.” He was clutching something in his hands, which he unraveled before extending it out to Finn. “Threepio grabbed it off the ship after Chewbacca arrived.”

Finn took the jacket gently from Poe’s hands, his fingers running along the leather as if it could disappear at any second. Carefully, he pulled the jacket on, his body relaxing at the feel of it.

“Thank you, Poe.”

“Threepio’s the one who saved it.”

“No, I -” Finn glanced around them before stepping to a more secluded section in the corridors, Poe following with slight confusion. “I meant thank you for everything that happened today. For having my back and stopping me from sacrificing myself for something that wasn’t worth it.”

“Of course. You know I’d never let anything bad happen to you.”

“How do you do it?” 

The words were out of Finn’s mouth before he could stop them. Finn knew his morals, he didn’t need to be taught them, but he was still struggling with making choices where two things could be right. Perhaps, it was more so that he struggled to choose the option that required hope. He had been willing to sacrifice himself because he knew it could protect others, but Poe had been gambling on hope all day. Even when they were surely doomed, Poe held onto hope until hope created what they needed. 

“How do you keep hoping when everything seems like it’s going to fail? Even when we met on the Finalizer, you knew the odds were against us and you still had hope.”

Poe gazed at him for a long moment, contemplating how to answer the question.

“Finn, when we met that day on the Finalizer, I thought I was done for. I had failed my mission and I was going to my death, but then you pulled me into that corridor and took off the helmet and you’re the one who gave me hope. Everything changed when I met you and that hope you gave me then, I still feel it every time that I see you. It’s why I’ve been fighting today; it’s why I keep fighting. When everything starts to get heavy, I think of when I first saw you in that corridor and then again on D’Qar in my jacket, and everything’s suddenly easier. Finn, I had hope today because I promised you that I would get you off of that ship and I meant it. Every time I felt as if hope had been lost today, I’d look at you and you were still fighting, so how could I not? Just looking at you half the time, Finn it - it just doesn’t . . .”

“It doesn’t feel real,” Finn finished for him, he knew the feeling. “Like it’s a dream and you’re just going to wake up and everything’s going to go back to normal.”

“Yeah,” Poe breathed out. His hands were holding onto Finn’s and he couldn’t figure out how they had gotten there. “Yeah, it’s exactly like that.”

“I feel the same way. It constantly feels like I’m going to be jerked back into reality and I’m just going to be another stormtrooper again. That everything here is just going to blow away like smoke. I’ve been - I’ve been holding onto the jacket you gave me ever since I woke up. I thought I had lost it when the ship got split, and when you gave it to me just now - it felt like I could breathe again. I get lost in thought for a moment, or I hear a noise or certain words and I keep thinking that I’m back there, that I’m just FN-2187 again. And your jacket it just reminds me that that’s not true. That this is real, that I really met you and I know you’ve been telling everyone that I saved you that day on the Finalizer, but I think you saved me too.”

There was no answer to how to hold onto hope. Hope created itself - out of love, out of want, out of desire. 

Poe was unabashedly staring at Finn now, his thumb running along the back of Finn’s hands. 

“Finn, I - I’m going to try something. Just let me know if you want me to stop.”

Finn only had time to nod before Poe was leaning in and pressing his lips against Finn’s. For a moment, Finn was utterly still before his eyes fluttered closed and he pressed into the kiss. Poe’s lips were soft against his. Finn’s heart beat wildly against his ribs and he was sure Poe could feel it. Nevertheless, Finn grabbed onto the collar of Poe’s shirt and pulled him closer and for just a moment, Finn felt as if there was nothing else in the galaxy. 

For just a second, it could be just the two of them. No war to fight. No nightmares to wake up to. It could just be the two of them, lips sliding against each other. One of Poe’s hands wrapped around Finn’s wrist, tracing patterns onto his skin, as he held Finn around the waist with the other. Finn could just hold Poe, pulling him closer with his collar or cupping his face, his fingertips memorizing every inch of Poe.

When Poe pulled away, Finn’s lips chased after him and Poe kissed him once more before resting his forehead against Finn’s.

“Was that okay?”

A laugh pushed through Finn’s lips. 

“It was good.”

“Good.” Laughter spilled from Poe’s mouth, a grin chasing it. “I, uh, I have something for you.”

Poe untangled his hands from Finn and stepped back just far enough so he could undo the necklace that he’d been wearing. He grabbed onto Finn’s hand and wrapped it around the silver chain and the ring that sat in the middle of it.

“It’s a bit more discreet than the jacket. Just if you need something to remind you that you’re here, that you’re not alone anymore. It belonged to my mother.”

Finn turned the necklace around in his palm, his eyes focusing on the simple steel ring.

“Poe, I can’t take your mother’s necklace.”

“You’re not taking it, Finn. I’m giving it to you. I want you to have it.”

Finn could not stop the grin that bloomed on his face if he wanted to. No one had ever given him something like this before, nothing that was this significant - a family heirloom. 

“Okay.”

Carefully, he pulled the necklace around his neck, but his fingers trembled as he tried to close the clasp.

“Here,” Poe stepped forward and grabbed a hold of the ends of the necklace before closing the clasp and straightening the necklace. “It suits you.”

Finn brought his hand up to the ring, tracing the smooth steel in wonder. There weren’t words to describe the gratitude that had filled Finn in that moment. Finn settled for grabbing a hold of Poe’s hand and squeezing.

“Thank you, Poe. For everything.”

Together they made their way back to the main floor of the ship, sliding down beside Rey and Rose who had been talking excitedly when they approached. 

“I’m Poe.” 

Poe had extended his hand to Rey, who took it grinning.

“I’m Rey. BB-8 never stops talking about you.”

Poe laughed as BB-8 chirped indignantly. 

For a moment, Finn just watched. He could feel his heart swelling as he gazed on at his friends delighted faces, who he loved and who loved him back. All of them were buzzing with excitement, smiles across their faces as if they all hadn’t almost died today. 

Perhaps, Finn thought, he had made his home in his friend’s hearts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leia watched the people around her. Despite everything they had lost today, the room was cheerful. She had seen Poe laughing with Finn, his mother’s necklace around Finn’s neck, their hands close together. She had seen the pure joy that had flashed across Rose’s face when she had noticed her sister was awake and alive. She had seen the way Rey gazed at Luke, as if he was still her greatest hero, despite the fact that they had been separated for so long.

Forgiveness bloomed in the air around her. The healing process had already started for her rebels.

“You thinking about Ben?” Luke asked as he slid into the copilot’s seat beside her. 

Leia could only sigh. 

“I really believed he would return with us. I never allowed myself to consider that he would turn without Snoke.”

“There wasn’t anything you could have done, Leia. Ben made his own choices.”

“You turned Darth Vader back after he had been on the dark side for decades. Our father didn’t even know us and you brought him back. How could I fail my own son?”

And there it was. Anger prickled at her fingertips. She had hated her birth father with all of her being, there had never been a moment where she wanted to turn him back and here she was cursed to have her own son fall to the dark side. The horrible things he had done and Leia had been willing to turn a blind eye if it meant she could save her son. She knew how Luke had felt then, to have that desperate need to save someone - to have their lives dangle in her own hands. 

Only she had failed. 

Her son had fallen to the dark side and would never return. And Leia had so foolishly allowed him to take so much of her with him. She had sacrificed so much only to receive nothing in return. She would have given her life for him and her son simply didn’t care.

“You didn’t fail him Leia. Our father turned to the dark side out of misguided love and love is the same thing that brought him back. I don’t know why Ben turned, I don’t know what the Dark Side offered him, but there was nothing more you could do.”

He was right. Leia knew her brother was right, but she was not yet ready to accept it.

“Where’d you learn all this stuff about our father? Surely it wasn’t on Ahch-To?”

Luke only smiled at her in that infuriating way of his.

“No one’s ever really gone.” Carefully, he lifted his hand up and pulled Han’s golden dice down from where they had been hanging above them. “You can still feel him, can’t you?”

He eyed the dice for a moment before he passed them to Leia. She clutched them in her hands, scared that if she let go Han would disappear with them. 

“I thought I might have been imagining it.”

“No.” Luke huffed a laugh. “How much do you think he’s hating this? Did he really not know he was force-sensitive?”

A laugh spilled from her lips at the thought of Han realizing he was part of the force now. 

“I always pretended he wasn’t, but I think he had to know when he flew us through an asteroid field without killing us all. I’m sure he convinced himself it was a fluke.”

“That was always Han.”

Luke was still grinning, eyes reminiscent as he gazed around the Falcon. Leia had sobered, her expression soft.

“How long does it usually take?”

“I don’t know. Longer for him than most since he never practiced using the force. But he’s been trying to get through.”

“I know.”

Both of their eyes settled in the space between their seats. Han was there now, Leia could feel him even if she couldn’t see him and she knew what he would say if he could. She knew he didn’t blame her for what happened with Ben, she knew he was sorry, that he had wanted to return to her, that when he got back things would have been different. 

And for the first time since she had lost him, Leia allowed herself to accept that.

Her fight was not yet over. She would heal and rebuild and start again in the morning. She was the last living royal member of the planet Alderaan. She could handle whatever was thrown her way, she would bring peace to the galaxy, and she would leave it better than she had found it. 

Leia Organa had a job to do and she would not rest until it was finished.

Then, the air shimmered behind her. Edges of a light blue outlined formed in front of her, Han’s form flickered. He gazed down at the two of them, pride on his face, and for just one moment the three of them were united once more. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, but Leia knew it was not the end. 

They would see each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's done!!!!!! 
> 
> This has been so fun to write and everyone who has commented has been so nice! I hope this finale doesn't disappoint you! Also, I've turned this into a series! I already have a one-shot partially planned where Finn goes out and seeks out his home planet. If there's any scenes that you wish I had wrote or things you wanted to see after the story ended, let me know and I'll see if I can write something up for you.
> 
> Now to talk about the chapter. 
> 
> I was purposefully vague on Mara's fate. I don't know anything about her character except she was Luke's wife in the extended universe, so I wasn't really comfortable with killing her off. Also, I've always headcanoned Luke as gay so I never called her his wife since that felt a bit weird to me - but interpret the fic as you like, that's why I made it vague.
> 
> Leia needed to confront her son and I'm going to be forever mad that we never got to see that. Also, her killing Snoke was everything that I ever needed and I'm so glad I gave that gift to myself.
> 
> Rey didn't get to do as much saving the day in this part as she did in the movie, mainly cause I chopped off her hand and then trapped the falcon. But I love writing her interactions with Luke and I kind of lowkey ship her with Rose.
> 
> The Finn/Poe content was really fun to write too! I had part of it written since I posted chapter one so finally getting to write the rest of it was fun. I just love them together so much, I've got two potential story ideas in mind for them to write after this - one of which is a reincarnation au fic idea that won't leave me alone, so if you keep up with what I post you might be seeing that soon.
> 
> Also it was completely unacceptable for them to leave Finn's jacket behind in the movie, so I had to fix that and Shara Bey's wedding ring necklace is from the visual dictionary, but I don't think it's ever mentioned in the movie. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked this! Leave me a comment and tell me what you thought! Feel free to follow or message me on my [tumblr](http://theyounggods.tumblr.com/), I'll make a post on there if I post a new story!
> 
> Hopefully, I'll have another Star Wars story up and finished before the end of January.


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